
Class 



Book 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



CLEMENTS, ONE OF THE DISCOVERERS OF EL DORADO 





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8 



B- 




A COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE ' ■^' 

YUKON^GOLD^FIELDS 

liiiMiliiiliiiiiiif 
eLEMENTS' 
QUIDE 



TO THE 



KLONDYKE 



mmmmmmmmmm 

The Fortunate Brakeman's 

Account of How He 

Gained His 

Wealth 



IKx>o5vi 




THE KLONDYKE 

\^44ygl.eMENT5 

DISCOVERER of El Dorado and OWNER 

with Clarence Berry and Frank Keller of the 

Celebrated El Dorado Claims 

Four and Five 



HOW THE BRAKEMAN GAINED HIS THOUSANDS 
IN FOUR MONTHS 



A COMPLETE GUIDE 

TO THE GOLD nCLDS 



ILLUSTRATED 



HONEST, RELIABLE, ACCURATE 



■;^ 



; ■: ■ ■ EclirccJ by 

O.'WHAPTON JAML5 

^ V^^"^ OV V ICK OF '^^.V^ 

NOV S6 1897 ^' 




1897 

R. BAUMGARDT 
LOS ANGELES, 
CAL. 



L TWO COPIES RECEIVED 



1080 



COPYRIGHT 1897 

BY 

J. I. CI.EMENTS AND G. WHARTON JAMES 




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A 



AUTHOR S PREFACE. 



EVER since it was known that I had been success- 
ful in my mining operations on the Klondyke, I 
have been besieged daily by hosts of friends, acquain- 
tances and strangers, and deluged with letters from all 
parts of the American Continent asking for reliable 
information about this newest and greatest El Dorado. 
The following pages are my answers to the questions 
I have been asked, and my solemn warning to those 
who would rush, unprepared and heedless, to the Klon- 
dyke, under the impulse of momentary enthusiasm. 

When I made the journey I was going into a terra 
incognita, and from few, if any, could I gain any 
information as to route, cost of travel, depots of sup- 
plies, etc. This book, if properly studied, will give to 
the reader and prospective traveler all the necessary 
information to enable him to make the trip at the 
right season, in the right manner and over what I 
regard as the most suitable route. 

J. I. Cl^EMKNTS, 

Los Angeles, California, 
October, 1897. 



EDITOR'S PREFACE. 



THIS book is a statement of facts. It gives the 
unvarnished record of Mr. Clements' journey to 
the Klondyke, his mining experiences and his won- 
derful successess. 

It is a reliable handbook of information for those who 
wish to take the trip, and will, the Editor hopes, serve 
as a powerful deterrent to all who are unfitted to cope 
with the many hardships that the best prepared 
traveler must endure in going to the Klondyke. It 
is not the everyday man who can carry a heavy load 
of provisions and supplies over pathless mountains 
covered with deep snow ; construct a boat that he 
must guide through raging rapids, dangerous whirl- 
pools, swirling eddies and swift currents, and often 
tow against a five to eight mile current over boulders 
and rolling waves ; sleep out in the open whenever 
and wherever night overtakes, with the thermometer 
for seven long months varying from zero to 70 degrees 
below, and where, in summer gnats and mosquitoes by 
the million sting and poison ; prepare his food out of 
doors under these adverse conditions, and finally reach 
the gold region to find his labors but begun. For here 
he must set his brain to work to find a location, and 
then, tireless energy, powerful strength and indomi- 
table courage are needed to dig gravel which is frozen 
solid so far down that the frost bottom has never yet 
been reached. 

The man who is willing and able to meet and over- 
cotne these hardships ha3 as good a chaiice in the 



Klondyke region as many of those who have already 
gained their fortunes. Scores of miles of rich creek 
and gulch bottoms are unexplored, and these may pan 
out as well as the richest claims yet staked. 

But the intelligent miner will post himself before he 
leaves home as to what is necessary to make a success 
of his mining adventures in the Klondyke, and thus 
deserve the success he hopes to attain. 

Unlike most of the books published on the Klon- 
dyke, this book is not full of wild, crazy statements 
made by irresponsible persons, but is the calm deliber- 
ate utterances of one of the most successful miners of 
the region, the discoverer of the El Dorado and the 
great $231 nugget, and the present holder of several 
successful claims. The information herein contained, 
therefore, is guaranteed to be reliable and safe to 
follow. 

G. Wharton James. 



INDEX. 

PAGE. 

Journey to the Gold Fields 9 

First View of Alaska lo 

Terrible Chilkoot Pass 12 

Alaskan Boat building 13 

Tagish House 15 

Mash Lake 15 

Treacherous Grand Canyon 15 

White Horse Rapids 17 

Lake Labarge 18 

River Scenery 20 

Dark Days 21 

Bonanza Creek 23 

El Dorado discovered 23 

Burning and Panning 25 

Claims 4 and 5 27 

Rich Pans of Dirt 27 

More Gold 28 

Manner of Living 29 

Condition of Labor 30 

Miners' Code of Morals and Laws 31 

Fake Boomers Hated 32 

Reduction of Claims 33 

Customs Regulations 33 

Free and Easy 34 

Gold Dust as Money 35 

Mosquito Headquarters 35 

Snow Blindness 36 

Indians 37 

Return to Civilization 38 

People Flocking In 39 

Our Return Route 39 

St. Michaels 40 

Kings of the Klondyke 42 

San Francisco and Home 43 

Facts About Alaska 43 

Shall I Go to the Klondyke 48 

Instructions About Outfit 49 

Provisions 51 

Clothing , 5a 

Medicines 54 

Powder lor Blasting ,..m.,m...m.m , ♦... 54 



INDEX — Continued. pagk. 

Prepare for the Mosquitoes 55 

Price of Outfit 55 

Frauds in Outfitting 56 

Prices paid at Dawson 57 

Determination of Route 60 

Skaguay Pass 61 

White Pass 63 

Chilkat Pass 64 

Taku Route 65 

Stickiue River Route 65 

Copper River Route 65 

Mackenzie River Route 66 

Yukon River Route 67 

Chilkoot Pass 68 

When to Start 69 

The Start 70 

Bogus Mining Claims 71 

Trading Companies 71 

Formation of Mining Companies 72 

Mineral Resources 72 

Game of the Yukon 73 

Woodlan d Caribou 74 

Barren Land Caribou 74 

St. Elias Bear 75 

Mountain Goat 76 

Mountain Sheep 77 

Lynx 77 

Wolves 77 

Wolverine : 78 

Fish 78 

Lake Trout 78 

Mining Laws of Yukon 79 

United States Mining Laws 87 

Climate of Alaska 90 

Climate at the Gold Fields 93 

Dyea 94 

Sheep Camp 94 

Stone House 95 

Caching Provisions etc 95 

Where to Stop at Night 96 

Lake Lindeman 96 

Boat Building 97 



INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS. 



>y FACING PAGE 

Clements' Map to the Gold Region 104 

>/ J. I. Clements 8 

V Juneau, Alaska 9 

Boat going through Grand Canyon 16 

Landing at Eddy of Grand Canyon 17 

Clements', Berry's and Keller's Claim on El Dorado Creek.. 32 

Miners' Cabin at Dawson City 33 

Breaking up of Ice on Yukon 40 

McQuesten's Store at Circle City 41 

Five Fingers 48 

. Forty Mile Post 49 

"' Steamer Alice at Dawson 64 

^ Dawson City 65 

5^' St. Michaels 65 

Sheep Camp 96 

Chilkoot Pass 97 

Clements' Dog Team at Circle City 80 

En Route to Mines 81 

Cabin at Forty Mile Post 81 




J. I, CIvKMENTS, 
One of the Discoverers ot Kl Dorado. 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 



CHAPTER I 



THE JOURNEY TO THE GOLD 
FIELDS. 



EVER since I was a boy I have wanted to penetrate 
the wilds of the continent where few white men 
have been. The frontier always had a fascination for 
me and it has always been my intention to make just 
such a trip some day. During my fourteen years of 
railroading I had saved quite a considerable sum of 
money, and when the first reports of the rich finds in 
the Alaska rivers were published, three or four years 
ago, I wanted to go, but was unable to do so. Of course 
I talked the matter over with my friends, and several 
of them were as anxious to go as I was. When I did 
make up my mind it was in a hurry. It was on the 
1 2th of March, 1896, that I learned that several of 
them were going to the Yukon Gold Fields, and that 
very day I resigned my position as brakeman on the 
Southern Pacific Railway. I was then living, with 
my wife and two children, in Los Angeles, and, bid- 
ding goodbye to them, left on the evening of the 13th 
at 8:15 lor San Francisco. 



10 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

My companions were Frank Keller, brakeman, 
William House, conductor, both of the Southern 
Pacific, Charles Lamb, John Doty, both of the Los 
Angeles street car service, and Mr. Narcross. We 
made no preparation whatever for the journey in Los 
Angeles. At Fresno, Clarence Berry joined us. We 
did not stay long in San Francisco, but went at once 
to Seattle by rail. There we purchased part of our 
outfit. After waiting four days for a steamer, we 
sailed March 20 on the steamer City of Topeka for 
Juneau. 

FIRST VIEW OF ALASKA. 



I do not remember the exact date upon which we 
landed at Juneau, but I shall never forget my first 
impressions of Alaska. They were anything but 
favorable. I hardly know what I had expected to 
see, but what I did see was a typical frontier town 
which belonged to some other people and continent. 
Strange faces, strange costumes, a strange dialect, 
and, worst of all to me, a strange climate, for I had 
been accustomed for years to the almost perpetual 
sunshine of Southern California. Still, I was not in 
least discouraged and I enjoyed the new experiences. 

At Juneau we bought the balance of our supplies. 
You might ask : How did we know what was needed ? 
We did not know only in a general way, but we 
depended upon the men who make a business of fur- 
nishing supplies. At that time it was just as cheap 
to make the purchases there as to have bought what 
we needed on the Sound and paid freight to Juneau. 
As soon as we had made all our purchases of pro- 
visons, clothing, mining supplies and tools we took 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 11 

passage on a small steamer, the Sea Lion, and em- 
barked for Dyea. The native way of spelling it is 
Taiya. This town is loo miles north of Juneau at the 
head of Chilkoot inlet. There was snow everywhere 
and the country looked anything but inviting. The 
journey inland begins at Dyea, which is the end of 
civilization, and the last point of communication with 
the outside world. Guides, dog sleds, etc., were 
easily obtainable and we left Dyea with our supplies 
on sleds soon after reaching there. It is possible to 
take canoes up the Dyea river for six or seven miles, 
but as that would necessitate another handling of the 
freight we made the trip to the Chilkoot canyon with 
dog sleds. The terrible Chilkoot Pass is only four- 
teen miles from Dyea and across it to the head of 
Lake Linderman in the Yukon watershed is twenty- 
three and a half miles. I wish I could properly 
describe this pass so as to give you some idea of its 
terrors, but no man who has never crossed it can form 
any idea of what it is from what might be written of 
it. The trail leads from the canyon up the rugged 
sides of the mountain along a timbered shelf over- 
looking the canyon and the river until Sheep Camp is 
reached. This is practically the timber line, and 
although the ascent before that is most difficult, here 
begins the real work of crossing the mountains. A 
violent storm was raging when we arrived there and 
we had to wait two weeks before we could proceed. 
The drifted snow was treacherous and we frequently 
heard the roar of an avalanche at some distant point 
in the mountains. In places the wind swept the rocks 
clear of snow, depositing it in drifts at other places 
until it was almost bottomless. 



12 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 
TERRIBLE CHILKOOT PASS. 



After waiting two weeks for a favorable opportunity 
to cross, we finally began the effort. To drag our sup- 
plies up the pass on sleds with dogs as the motive 
power was out of the question, so we rigged up a 
block and tackle and in lots of about one hundred 
pounds at a time we lifted our freight from shelf to 
shelf, only to repeat the operation until we reached the 
summit. The mere description of the manner of 
working conveys little idea of what it really was. 
What chance would a party of store clerks, book- 
keepers, or other men who seldom use their muscles 
for hard work, have here ? It is true they might 
secure Indian packers to carry their goods at a cost of 
$14 per one hundred pounds. That was the charge 
then, but with the rush that is now on the Indians 
can charge an^^ price they please. 

The summit is 4,000 feet above the tide water, and 
there is a sheer descent on the other side of five hun- 
dred feet to Crater lake, which undoubtedly occupies 
an extinct crater. The descent is comparatively easy 
and from Crater lake we followed a small canyon to 
the head of Lake Lindeman, our next camp. To 
make the distance, nine miles, with our entire load in 
one trip was impossible ; we made three trips of it 
from the summit to the lake. Owing to the scarcity 
of timber around Lake Lindeman, it having been 
burned off, we could not build a boat there, and, there- 
fore, were compelled to haul our goods to Lake Ben- 
nett, which is connected with Lcike Lindeman l)y a 
small, rocky stream, one mile in length. 



CLEMENTS' CdlDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 13 
ALASKAN BOAT BUILDING. 



To build a boat such as was needed for the remain- 
der of our journey would be easy enough anywhere 
that lumber could be had, but to perform such a task 
there was then an entirely different and very diffi- 
cult matter. Remember we had nothing but our tools, 
supplies and sleds, and our only material for boat 
building w^as to be found in the uncut forests. Nor 
was the timber at all places near enough to the 
water to make the work easy. Every board had to 
be whip-sawed. A sawpit had to be constructed 
and trestles to hold the trees to be sawed had to be 
put up. To get the trees over this pit and to block 
them in place was not always easy, as some of them 
had to be rolled quite a distance. Every board was 
valuable and every nail counted for something, 
because we knew we might need all we had later. 
Our boat was finished at last and the work of load- 
ing it was soon over. It was not possible to float 
in all places, however, because of the ice, so we 
sometimes used it as an ice boat. In that manner 
our progress was rapid. Lake Bennett is twenty- 
six miles long, and we traversed it without special 
incidents. 

We built our boat near the West Arm of Lake 
Bennett, and put into it an eighteen foot mast with 
eighty square feet of sail. We had not sailed far 
before we reached the ice, and there we dragged the 
boat out of the water, blocked it upon sleds, fore 
and aft, rigged a crude steering gear, hoisted our 
sail and were rapidly blown along. We made fully 
ten miles an hour where the wind was favorable 
and the ice good. 



14 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

The lower end of Lake Bennett reaches up into a 
beautiful valle5^ and it seemed as if that was to be 
the direction we were to take. Instead of this we 
had to turn to the east, around a high mountain, 
and enter a low-terraced system of slopes to Caribou 
Crossing. This is the name given to the connecting 
strip of water between Lake Bennett and Tagish 
Lake, or more properly, the Windy Arm of Tagish 
Lake. The channel is windy and shallow and the 
current slow. The name was given on account of 
this being the crossing place of the bands of caril^ou 
during their period of migration. 

At Caribou Crossing we came to water again, and 
it was not a long task to slip the boat off the sleds 
into the water and take to rowing. Two miles and 
a half further on we had to take once more to the 
ice and v/e sledded it across the lower end of the 
Windy Arm, across Tagish Lake and up nearly as 
far as Tagish House. 

The Windy Arm is the name given to the south- 
western portion of Lake Tagish, and is so known 
because of the fierce winds that generally assail the 
traveler, at all portions of the year, in making the 
crossing. Lake Bennett is generally very windy, but 
we escaped all rough winds there, only to catch our 
full share at Windy Arm. This place seems to form a 
funnel for the wind to enter the White Pass, and boat- 
men have often been delayed for days until its fury 
was expended. Many a boat has been wrecked here, 
and many a poor prospector lost his all owing to the 
treacherous winds of Windy Arm. 

Fortunately we crossed it with little difficulty, sled- 
ding along at a comfortable rate of speed. Tagish 
Lake was also crossed with little incident, and we 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 15 

entered the six mile river which connects Tagish 
Lake and Lake Marsh. This is a wide stream, with a 
slow current. It opens into the extended valley, 
especially to the west, while here and there are ])anks 
covered with cottonwood and white spruce. 



TAGISH HOUSE. 



Just before reaching Tagish House we left the ice 
and re-entered the water. This is an Indian house, 
kept by the Indians of the surrounding district, who 
come here annually for their councils of war, their 
feasts and dances. There are smaller houses around, 
used by the Indians as dwellings. These houses are 
kept in repair at each annual celebration of the abor- 
igines. 

MARSH LAKE. 



We rowed past the historic Indian House, out into 
Lake Marsh, which is twenty miles in length, and 
about four miles out had to take the boat from 
the water again and place it on the sleds. Thus we 
sledded across Lake Marsh, taking to the water again 
at the Lewis River, down the smooth current of 
Vv'hich we rowed for about twenty-six miles. The 
water flowed easily about ihree miles an hour, and 
occasionally we came to a rapid, the roar and noise 
and dash of which served as a foretaste of the dan- 
gerous rapids we knew were ahead in the 

TREACHEROUS GRAND CANYON. 

A few miles above the Canyon, Silver Creek enters 
where the sand has piled up in a numi)er of dome- 
shaped mounds. The current increases in speed, 
until at last we reach a friendlv sisrn which says: 



16 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

DANGER ! STOP. 

And here it was well we did stop, or this simple 
narrative would never have been written. 

The can3^on is about three-quarters of a mile in 
length, and, in its widest part, not a hundred feet 
wide, and the sides rise perpendicularly from fift}^ to 
two hundreed feet. Above, the river is two hundred 
and fifty yards wide, and all of the water it contains 
is crowded into this rocky passage. The roar of the 
water as it plunges through this place is like a contin- 
ual roll of thunder, and the speed of the current is 
something frightful. Such is the force with which 
the water is dashed through that it is crowded up to 
a crest or comb in the center, which is fully four feet 
higher than where it strikes the walls. To shoot this 
canyon a boat must be kept on this crest, which can be 
done with comparative ease, provided the steersman 
does not lose his head, but it takes a cool head and 
and more nerve than many persons possess to make 
the trip. To those who enter it trusting to luck to 
take them through it is a veritable death trap. If 
once a boat gets off that crest there is no hope for it, 
foi it will be dashed against the sides with such 
force as to splinter it. Occasionally a bowlder lies 
right in the way of the current, and then the waves 
dash over it with a wildness and a fury indescribable, 
throwing great clouds of spray high into the air. 
Our boat rode over these waves, bounding and leap- 
ing as though gifted with sensibility and life, and 
our hearts leaped and bounded in response to the 
gallant little bark's endeavors. Some idea of the 
rapidity of the current may be had when the reader 
learns that our boat went the entiie distance — three- 
quarters of a mile — in two and one-half minutes. 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 17 

There is a portage of a mile and a half around this 
place if it is desired to avoid the danger that way. 

SAW FOUR riEN DROWN. 
Just ahead of us, when we got to the head of the 
canj'On was a party of four young men in a boat of 
their own construction. How long they had been 
there I do not know, nor did I learn their names. 
Their craft started through the canyon all right, and 
they gave a yell or a cheer. Their steersman must 
have lost control of the boat, for they had gone but 
a short distance when we saw their boat leave the 
crest and dash against the stone sides. It was all 
over in less time than it takes to tell it, for the boat 
instantly turned over and disappeared with all on board. 
There is an undercurrent which boils and rolls from 
side to side, and we supposed they were caught in 
that, for we never saw a sign of them or their outfit 
afterwards. 

WHITE HORSE RAPIDS. 



Grand canyon and White Horse rapids, which are 
two miles below the canyon, had caused thirteen 
deaths that season. The rapids are more dangerous 
of passage than the canyon, if there could be any 
greater danger, because they are filed with huge rocks 
and bowlders. Up to the time I left the camp reports 
had come in of the drowning of thirteen men at differ- 
ent times at one place or the other. I do not vouch 
for the truth of this report, but having seen both 
places, I am not inclined to discredit it. 

No photograph or description can adequately por- 
tray the difficulty or danger of shooting such rapids as 



18 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

the White Horse. To the onlooker from the side of 
the river it seems as if there would be but a few toss- 
ing waves to overcome, but those who have read 
Major Powell's descriptions of shooting the rapids in 
the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River will know 
how to estimate aright the dangers and perils to be 
met. In the ocean the water of a wave stands still, 
while the form of the wave moves on. The result is 
a boat rises and falls and the difficult)^ is over. But 
in these rapids the form remains while the water 
dashes on, so that a boat is often swamped by going 
under the back-combing wave. Then too, one must 
avoid the rocks that bar the passage way. Expert 
hands, arms and muscles are required to steer where 
the current is smoothest, and to avoid the swirling 
whirlpools where dire dangers lurk, and the seething 
eddies which crave for man's life. No foolhardy per- 
son should ever be allowed the control of a boat in 
such a place, for the greatest possible care and caution 
must be observed. We were both glad and thankful 
when our experience was over, and, while it is inter- 
esting to look back upon, there is no pleasure in con- 
templating the possibility of its revival. 

From this point, for thirty-two miles we had plain 
and easy sailing and rowing. About fifteen miles 
below the White Horse Rapids the Tahkheena River 
flows into the Lewes from the west. It is a good 
sized stream with a slower current than the Lewes. 

Twelve miles further on and we entered 
LAKE LABARQE. 

This lake is about thirty-four miles long, with an 
average width of five miles, though in some places it 
is much wider. At times it is very windy and rough, 
but when we reached it, after rowing for 2 or 3 miles 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. Ut 

we came to ice, so that we sledded across. It was 
six o'clock in the morning when we started and it 
took us 13 hours to get across. This is the last lake 
of the series, and we now entered the I^ewes River 
which is the principal tributary of the Yukon. From 
here to Forty Mile post the journey is one of compar- 
atively smooth sailing and rowing. There is only 
one point which looks very dangerous and that is at 
Five Fingers. There, at the head of a short series of 
rapids, are five huge masses of rock rising out of the 
water. The water runs swiftly between these and 
the passage on the right, being the deepest, is usually 
taken. There is really no danger at the place. 

The Hootalinqua river enters the Lewes about 
twenty-eight miles below Lake Labarge, and thirty- 
two miles further on the Big Salmon also enters. 
These both come in from the Hast, or Southeast, and 
are large rivers, which must drain a vast territory. 
Thirty-five miles below the Big Salmon the Little 
Salmon river flows into the Lewes, but, as its name 
implies it is smaller and of less importance than its 
larger namesake. From here to the Five Finger 
Rapids the course of the river is very tortuous, making 
the distance about fifty-three miles, while in a straight 
line it would not be more than twenty-five miles. 
Coal has been discovered on this stretch of river, and 
a trader named George McCormack is engaged in 
opening up the seam. 

Five or six miles below Five Finger Rapids are 
what are called the Rink Rapids. These are formed 
by a bar of rocks which looks formidable to the boat- 
men as it reaches almost entirely across the river. 
The west side is as rough as Five Fingers, but the 
east side is a rapid current with scarcely a ripple. 



20 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 
THE RIVER SCENERY. 



I will not attempt to describe the scenery, which is 
very picturesque, the river being studded with hun- 
dreds of islands. It has been my purpose in describ- 
ing the trip to point out some few of the dangers, and, 
to use a popular expression, "there are others." I 
do not take a pessimistic view of the matter, but if by 
telling this, I can keep some headstrong persons from 
rushing into that country by that route without proper 
equipment or experience, I shall be gratified. The 
trip down the Lewes to the Yukon at the site of old 
Fort Selkirk, and thence past Stewart river, Sixty- 
Mile Post, the Klondyke river. Fort Reliance to 
Forty-Mile Post, our objective point, w^as made with- 
out incident of a startling nature. In the later pages 
of this book the details of distances will be given. 

I know now that on that journe}^ v>^e passed over 
untold millions of gold hidden away in the bed of the 
rivers and creeks. Part of it we returned up the river 
to secure, but that is another part of the story. 

We were three months making the trip from 
San Francisco to Forty-Mile Post, including the 
time we spent for preparation at Juneau. During 
this journe}^ we used almost every kind of locomotion 
known and followed in these regions. In crossing 
the Chilkoot Pass we went back and forth three 
times in order to get all our supplies to where the 
sleds and dogs could transport them to Lake Bennett. 
Here, as before described, we constructed our boat 
in such a manner that, when necessitated by the 
ice, we could convert it into a sled. From this point 
on we rowed, sailed and sledded until the open 
waters of the Lewes were finally reached, when we 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 21 

continued to row and sail to our destination. At 
times we took the dogs into the boat. This was when 
the wind and ice were favorable for swift sailing, our 
sled making sometimes ten and more miles an hour. 
When our .speed was .slow the dogs walked or ran, 
and, occasionally they helped tow the sled over the 
ice. Of course the dogs were always taken aboard 
when we came to the open water. 

During the journey it never grew dark, but day 
was brighter than night. We stopped for camp 
every twelve hours or so, either on shore, in tents, or 
in the boats which were provided with stoves. When 
in the boats at night we raised the tents over the 
stoves and our beds, so that we were very comfortable. 
There was no difficulty experienced in finding wood for 
fuel, as the rivers and lakes were generally lined with 
it. For protection each man did relief watch duty 
when we were sailing, although v\^e did not deem this 
necessary when v/e were camped on shore. 



DARK DAYS NOT OVER. 

Although we had arrived safely at Fortj'-Mile 
Post our hardships were by no means over. This 
is the center of operations, and we had to decide 
whither we would go. In the spring of the year it is 
impos.sible to use the sledge and dogs, and one mu.st 
therefore be his own pack horse and tramp through 
creeks of piercingly cold water, and mud and .slush 
galore. Under such adverse conditions a strong man 
cannot carrj^ more than from fifty to seventy-five 
pounds, and even if he has decided upon an objective 
spot, or is going to a claim already' located, a number 



22 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

of such wearisome trips are necessary to convey the 
needful amount of supplies. If the miner be pros- 
pecting it is even more difficult, as he must take with 
him on each trip all he needs to enable him to eat and 
sleep while his prospecting lasts. 



JUST BEFORE DAWN, 



I have heard the saying that the darkest hour is 
just before the dawn. That was, indeed, m}^ ex- 
perience in the Yukon valley after our arrival at 
Forty- Mile post. When we reached there we were 
so hardened by the labors of the trip that we were 
able to stand almost any kind of life, so long as we 
had enough to eat. Of all places Forty-Mile was 
the dullest. There were plenty of men there at 
times, in fact, more men, it seemed, than there vv'as 
work for. We could secure no work even had we 
desired to labor b}^ the day, so we spent a few da3^s 
resting and then struck out for ourselves on a pros- 
pecting tour. We went down the river for fifty 
miles or more, to American Creek, on the American 
side of the border. In this vicinity we prospected 
all summer without success. There were times, of 
course, when we became discouraged and wished we 
were at home again if only for a little while, but as 
that was out of the question, we kept digging. 
That was my "darkest hour," for the dawn was 
coming sooner and brighter than I knew. We con- 
sumed all the provisions we had in our whole sum- 
mer's work and returned to Forty-Mile for more 
supplies. They were hard to get, but we got them. 
I do not now remember what they cost, but it was 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 23 

such a sum that would make any city grocer a million- 
aire if he could sell his stock at such prices. There 
were many men there who had had similar exper- 
iences to ours, and some of them were more discour- 
aged by far, for we bad never given up hope of 
striking something. In spite of the disappointments 
there was plenty of fun there. 



BONANZA CREEK. 



While we were there at Forty-Mile the discovery of 
large deposits of gold on Bonanza Creek was made 
and the news spread rapidly, as all such news seems 
to in that country. We at once started for that 
creek and staked several claims. These we did not 
work much for the reason that our supplies were 
again getting rather low and we had to go back 
to the Yukon for more grub. Perhaps a little descrip- 
tion of the geography of the country will serve to 
explain the situation. Bonanza Creek is a tributary 
of the Klondyke River. At the mouth of the Klon- 
dyke is Dawson City. Bonanza Creek empties into 
the Klondyke a short distance above Dawson City. 
In order to reach Dawson City from where our first 
claim lay we had come down Bonanza Creek to the 
Klondyke and thence to its mouth. 



EL DORADO DISCOVERED. 



When we were en route to Forty-Mile Post for 
supplies we camped one night at the mouth of a small 
stream now known as El Dorado Creek, which empties 
into Bonanza Creek about i8 miles from its mouth, 



24 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

Ivittle did we think when we pitched our camp there 
how near we were to fortune. While the others were 
getting supplies, Keller and I went up the creek 
prospecting. What we found surprised us, for we 
saw the most promising signs of gold that we had 
yet seen. The surface prospects were such that we 
were amazed and delighted. We did not have to 
work long before we found enough to show us that 
right here we could work and secure a return which 
we had not expected. We went back at once to 
the camp and told the others, who at first would 
not believe what we said. We must have partially 
convinced them, however, for they agreed to go 
with us and see for themselves, and that settled it. 
We all knew that we had something better than 
Bonanza Creek offered and we determined to hold it. 
After carefully prospecting the place we staked our 
claims and determined to work them for all there was 
in them. It was only four days before the news of 
our discovery had spread over the country, and in a 
short time that entire creek for twelve miles was 
staked and preparations were being made to work 
it. We got the five first claims, and, I believe, the 
best ones. Those of us who were there first beside 
myself were Keller, Frank Phiscator, Anton Standard 
and a man named Whipple. The discovery was made 
about September ist, and cold weather had set in so 
that, until we were prepared for it, we could not work 
the claims properly. We built our cabins of rough 
logs chinked with moss to keep out the cold winds, 
and to keep in the heat. Lumber is useful only for 
doors and floors. To clear away the snow and erect our 
cabins so as to be comfortable for the winter was no 
^asy task, aud^we expended two months' labor iu this 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 25 

direction. At times we would work a little on our 
claims, but it was not until we got ready to live com- 
fortably that we began the work in earnest. We 
knew we had to stay there all winter, so we fixed our 
quarters the best way we could. 

BURNING AND PANNING. 



It was nearly Christmas before we got the first good 
return. Bedrock there is from six to twenty feet 
below the surface, and as every inch of the surface 
dirt is frozen, it was hard to get out. The process of 
burning out the ground — that is building fires over 
the claim and thawdng the dirt — is interesting enough 
to be described here, though accounts have often been 
given of the method followed. 

Most of the pay dirt in the side creeks is covered 
over with a layer, generally several feet thick, of soft 
muck. This, of course, freezes solid in the winter when 
all the mining is done. No slucingor panning can be 
done when everything is frozen up, so we have a long 
period of mining and a short period of panning out. 
When pay dirt is found we lay out the place where we 
intend to make our shaft, a space, say, four by eight 
feet. On this we lay wood which has been cut into 
four-foot lengths. The first layer is placed a little dis- 
tance apart. Then a cross layer, closely packed, is 
placed above the first, and another across this, and so 
on. The fire is then applied at the bottom, and as 
the logs burn they thaw out the ground and make it 
accessible to the pick and shovel. This burned dirt 
and gravel are thrown out from as far down as possi- 
ble, and another fire built. And thus the alternate 
burnings arid shovelings continue until bedrock is 
reached. The pay dirt as it is brought to the surface 



26 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

is piled on a dump read3^ for sluicing when the 
warm weather comes. 

From bedrock we tunnel into the pay gravel, by 
following up the burning-out method. But in tun- 
neling we lay the wood different from the method 
followed when burning for a shaft. After laying 
down the lowest section of logs, a little distance apart, 
and one or two cross layers above it, the next layer 
in reared up in a slanting position against the wall. 
As the fire burns, the heat is kept under this slant- 
ing layer of logs and forced upon the side wall 
instead of the ceiling, as would be the case with a 
straight pile of logs. The result is, that, by and by, 
the upper part of the wall as it thaws, begins to 
fall in, but, the gravel dropping on the slanting 
logs, slips to the ground without putting out the 
fire. Thus, rapid progress is made, for, during the 
night, when thus partially covered with gravel, the 
wood becomes charcoal, and, with intense heat, slowly 
smolders away. 

When we are working underground these fires are 
always laid at night after finishing the day's work, 
so that the wood can burn all night. 

As soon as the fire has burnt itself out and the 
gases have all escaped, the thawed out gravel is 
shoveled into the buckets and is hoisted to the top 
of the dump. But the cold is so intense that it is 
a common thing for the gravel to be frozen almost 
solid ere it reaches the surface, so that it requires 
hard work to force it from the bucket. Thus, slowly, 
the work of drifting into the gravel and bringitig it 
to the surface goes on. Had powder been included in 
our mining equipment we could have made greater 
progress by blasting, 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 27 

As soon as spring comes, -preparations are made 
for sluicing. The water-ways are put in, and as 
soon as the warm hands of the sun release the bonds 
winter has placed on everything, the gravel is washed 
and the gold taken out. 



CLAinS 4 AND 5. 



When it came to dividing up the five claims our 
party of prospectors had staked out, claims 4 and 5 
were awarded to three of us — Clarence Berry, Frank 
Keller and myself. We worked faithfully on these 
claims until the thaw set in, and then set to work to 
sluice out our gold . 

I do not care to go into particulars too fully, as I 
do not desire to be classed among those who have been 
bragging about that country without telling also of its 
dangers and hardships. Let it be sufficient when I 
say that out of claim five, from a space less than 
eighty feet square, the three of us cleaned up, between 
January ist and the middle of May more than 
$150,000. 

While all the claims on the Eldorado did not pan 
out as rich as these two, yet I presume there were fully 
two million dollars worth of gold taken out on that 
creek alone in those four months, in spite of the fact 
that the work was all done with the crudest possible 
appliances and under the worst disadvantages. 



RICH PANS OF DIRT. 



The richest pan of dirt to my knowledge, taken out 
on El Dorado was from Claim 32. It netted $1,300. 
The largest pan I ever made personall}^ was one of 



28 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

$775. The great nugget, which I discovered, and 
still have in m}^ possession, taken out from our claim, 
vi^eighs thirteen ounces and is worth $231.00, and as a 
specimen it is valued at $500.00. 



HARD WORK. 



Was it hard to find? Well, no; but there was 
plenty of hard w^ork about it. Almost all of it was 
coarse gold, and there is, we know, more gold in that 
dirt v/hich we washed out, but the particles were too 
fine to notice easily. We will doubtless work it all 
over again when we go back, for we are going back 
next year. Bear in mind that each claim when I was 
there was five hundred feet long and we only worked 
a space about eighty feet square. How much more 
gold is there no man can tell. Other miners above 
us w^ere equally successful. Many of the nuggets 
could be poked out with a stick or a pocket knife, out 
of the frozen dirt which was thrown up. 



nORE GOLD TO BE HAD. 



Such is the richness of the Klondyke region. In 
spite of the fact that such quantities of gold have 
been found, I am almost certain that the country has 
not been scratched as yet. The water shed of the 
Yukon is almost as large as the Mississippi valley, 
and while I do not say that gold can be found all over 
it, there are many places in the interior where the 
foot of white man has never trod, where are rich dis- 
coveries yet to be made. Some of these places cannot 
now be reached on account of the fact that they are 
so remote from points of communication with the out- 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 29 

side world that no party could get supplies to them. 
It would be impossible for a party to carry their own 
supplies, because of the distances and roughness of 
the country. They might get far into the interior, 
but how could they live a year and travel from place 
to place prospecting ? I would not care to be the one 
to advise any man to try it. The Klondyke country' 
is even now filling up with inexperienced men who 
know nothing of woodcraft, boating or camping, but 
have been raised without hard work. There is no 
doubt that such men will materialh^ suffer, though 
some of them may strike it rich and be able to endure 
the frightful hardships. 



riANNER OF LIVING. 

Everything considered, our claims located and our 
prospecting over, we managed to make ourselves 
fairly comfortable in the winter time. We built huts 
of rough logs, and protected ourselves from the cold 
by closing all the places where the air could get in by 
chinking them with moss. Our food was necessarily 
of the plainest possible kind, for delicacies had not 
reached Alaska then, and we did not need ice cream. 
Bacon was by no means the only meat we had. The 
Indians supplied fresh meat all the time. As moose, 
caribou and bear are numerous, we got all we wanted 
of that kind of meat. The vegetables, of course, we 
either took with us or purchased there, and so far as 
food was concerned it was just what was needed. 
Plenty of food could be purchased if 3'ou had the price, 
and if you had not you could get a 1)ite at almost any 
miner's table. To come to a man's house at meal 



30 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

time, and not accept the invitation to eat which was 
invariably offered, was to insult the one who made 
the offer. 

The only fresh vegetables we were able to purchase 
there were turnips and lettuce. We enjo3^ed these 
immensely. They w^ere raised on the roofs of the 
cabins, which being covered with one or two feet of 
soil and moss, warmed from below by the heat of the 
cabin, and from above by the heat of the sun, made 
excellent gardens. 

In winter drinking water is obtained by first select- 
ing a place where the ice is thick and clear, then 
blocking it out and melting as occasion requires. 



THE CONDITION OF LABOR, 



Necessarily, the conditions that govern labor in 
new^ mining camps, like those on the Yukon and 
Klondyke, vary with great rapidity in the early daj^s 
of their existence. Up to the time I left, laborers 
or miners were in demand, and were commanding 
$io to $15 per day for six to ten hours services. We 
worked thirty-five men on our claim for the greater 
part of the winter, and could have given employment 
to many more. But it must be remembered that from 
now on the probabilities are that there will be a 
glut in the labor market, unless the extent of the gold 
fields increase in proportion to the great influx of 
population. 

Skilled mechanics command no greater pay than 
industrious, able-bodied men, but, as the population 
increases skilled labor will be more in demand and 
will command its proper price. 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 31 
MINER'S CODE OF MORALS AND LAWS. 



The miners are free enough with each other so long 
as everj'body does his share, but as soon as a man is 
known to be taking unfair advantage, cheating or 
otherwise conducting himself in a manner at variance 
with the miners' rather liberal code of ethics, the 
country becomes a little warm for him, even if the 
temperature is fifty degrees below zero. Several men 
have been run out of the country for shady transac- 
tions, and others have not been so fortunate as to be 
able to get away. 

In spite of the presence there of the Canadian 
mounted police, the miners have their own laws about 
matters which interest them directly. More than one 
man has felt the rope because he was caught stealing. 
The supposition that every man is honest is followed 
so long as a man acts honestly, but once he gets the 
name of being otherwise, he might as well leave. 

On the way to the gold fields and through that 
country at frequent intervals there may be seen 
bundles of goods, — packs which have been left there by 
their owners until they can return for them. These 
packs contain food, clothing, picks, etc., and are 
plainly marked so that they can be identified. If a man 
comes across one of them and is hungry, he can take 
what he wants for immediate use and if he cannot pay 
for it he has only to leave a note telling the owner just 
what he took and why, and who he is. Nothing is 
ever thought of that. If, however, he were to steal 
the pack and be caught with it, he would be more 
than likely to dangle at the end of a rope. 



32 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 
FAKE BOOMERS HATED. 



If there is one class of men whom the miners hate 
and despise more than another it is that class who go 
to the mines, make their fortunes, and, coming out, 
tell stories of the great richness of the country without 
telling what dangers and hardships are to be encoun- 
tered. Some of this class will be responsible for the 
life of many a poor fellow who is even now attempting 
to reach the interior where he has been led to believe 
he can pick up gold wherever he goes. The effect of 
some of these stories has been to send thousands of 
men into a countr}^ which contains supplies enough 
for hundreds only. That there will be suffering and 
death for many of them, instead of the fortunes they 
expect, is certain. Should some of the men who have 
started these stories go back there, and some of them 
will, they will be given a bullet or two, and they 
deserve it, too. They have been the cause of filling 
the camps with hungry mouths, and as the miners 
will help all they can, it means that nearly all must 
suffer. There is no selfishness in this feeling among 
the men already there, but they know what the trip 
means and the}' know what it is to be there in winter 
with only a small suppl}^ of food. That crisp, cold 
atmosphere serves to whet a man's appetite until he 
requires more food than he would need at home. 



REDUCTION OF CLAIMS. 



I have noticed in the press dispatches that the 
Canadian government has decided to reduce the size 
of the claims to one hundred feet instead of five hun- 
dred feet, as the miners' laws allow. If they try it I 



CLEMENIS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. H3 

am inclined to think there will be strong remonstrance 
offered. No one is more ready or willing to assist in 
the preservation of order than the miners themselves, 
but when it comes to reducing the size of their hold- 
ings there ma}' be a clash. Think what it means to 
them ! On El Dorado creek it is estimated that the 
dirt is worth $i,ooo per foot for twelve miles. Is it 
reasonable to suppose that the men will quietly sub- 
mit to the seizure of four-fifths of their holdings ? It 
may be, of course, that the Canadian Government 
would not make such a law to be retroactive. If such 
a law is made reducing the holdings, miners coming 
into the region will be required to submit to laws then 
in force. The injustice would be, to take away claims 
already staked and partially worked by miners acting 
in good faith under the law^s in force when the}- 
entered the country. 

Up to the time I left there, no percentage of gold 
found was taken b}^ the government, as has been 
reported. 

CUSTOMS REGULATIONS. 



The Canadian government is collecting a duty on 
all goods brought into the country from the American 
side. We had to pay from 20 to 30 per cent, on value 
of our equipment. It was collected at Dawson City, 
where the headquarters of the department had been 
established. Some miners are attempting to evade a 
portion of this dut3^ and many of the persons now 
going there will escape it altogether, but the mounted 
police are securing all they can. The personal rigiits 
of the miners are being protected l)y the authorities as 
much as possible, and the life there is different from 



34 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

what the forty-niners found it in California. The 
Canadians undoubtedly hate to see Americans carrj^- 
ing off so much gold and they are trying to keep all 
of it they can by whatever possible regulations they 
can establish. The miners know the law, however, 
and they as a class are not easil)^ fooled by any mere 
display of supposed authority. If an unjust charge is 
made they apply to headquarters and it is set right or 
they know the reason why. Mr. Constantine, com- 
manding the mounted police and acting Gold Commis- 
sioner was in charge when I left, but I understand a 
Gold Commissioner has since been sent there. Mr. 
Constantine attended to the recording of all claims and 
did all he could to legalize our titles to our holdings. 



FREE AND EASY. 



Everything is wide open in the towns and posts, if 
I may use that expression. A man can get almost 
any kind of a game he wants. Faro is the favorite, 
but there is also nearly all the other forms of gaming. 
I suppose by this time a man can get a confidence 
game if he wants it. There is no doubt that the 
arrival of so many people from the outside will cause 
a change in the camps. Men will have to lock up 
their gold instead of keeping it in bags in their cabins 
as we did. There will be wildcat schemes of a ques- 
tionable character exposed and the tenderfeet who 
start them may immediately afterward be no more. 
There may be odd jobs for such an official as the 
coroner from time to time, but on the whole the order 
in that part of the country will be fairly good. Most 
of the miners are good citizens who will support the 
police in the maintenance of law and order, and 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 35 

so far as the civil and personal rights of a man are 
concerned he will be as safe there as elsewhere. 



GOLD DUST AS MONEY 



Probably at no place now or ever before is business 
so generally done with gold dust or nuggets as a 
medium of exchange, as on the Klondyke. In buying 
a quarter of moose of the Indians, or paying for a hair 
cut, you either weigh out the dust, or give a nugget 
of a size that 3^ou think contains about the required 
value. 

The miners receive their wages in gold dust or nug- 
gets, and generally it is paid them every day. 

The gold, during the winter season, is obtained for 
this purpose, by taking some of the richest of the 
frozen pay dirt or gravel into the cabin, where enough 
ice is melted to secure water to wash it out in what 
the miners term a mud box. 



MOSQUITO HEADQUARTERS. 



One of the greatest hardships one has to endure at 
the diggings during the warm weather is in battling 
with mosquitoes. It seems that all the mosquitoes in 
the world have caugtt the gold fever and have 
assembled along the rivers, lakes and creeks of Alaska. 
They are the pest that is dreaded by all miners who 
go there. Combine all the stories of New Jersey 
mosquitoes 3'ou have ever heard with all that you can 
possibly imagine that is terrible about them, and you 
will not then have any idea of what a pest they are. 
They swarm in countless millions in the diggings and 
bite everthing they can. They will bite a man 



36 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

through his trousers, or crawl up his sleeves or 
trouser-legs and sting their victim. I have seen men 
drop to the ground and cry in pain because of their 
bites. There have been many cases of insanity caused, 
by them. Mosquito netting is taken, but it does not 
always serve as a complete protecticm, for it soon 
becomes cumbersome and in the way and very un- 
pleasant. When the weather is warmest the mos- 
quitoes are the thickest. After the netting has been 
discarded by a miner, and he attempts to work with- 
out it, he is soon forced to retreat to his cabin to 
escape further battle and soothe the pain. 

Some people find pennyroyal or spirits of camphor 
keep the pests away from them, and at Seattle one can 
buy a druggist's "sure cure" prescription. But I 
tried them all, and the mosquitoes paid no more atten- 
tion than a hungry negro would if a bottle of rose per- 
fume were put between himself and a fine watermelon. 
The more " stuff" I put on, the more the mosquitoes 
bothered me, until, at last, I quit using anything and 
let them go ahead and suck out m^^ good blood while 
they innoculated me with their poison. 



SNOW BLINDNESS. 



In crossing the mountains and also at the diggings 
when the ground is covered with snow many persons 
suffer from snow blindness. I have even seen dogs, 
when crossing the Chilkoot Pass, go bhnd. When 
one is so attacked he has to be killed. The best pre- 
ventive of this painful and sometimes dangerous 
affliction is a pair of blackened or slightly smoked 
glasses with square side winkers. In purchasing 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 87 

don't be tem[)ted to buy green or blue goggles, or 
any high colored glasses, but those that are the least 
smoked, — ^just enough to take off the intense brilliancy 
of the sunlight on the snow. 



INDIANS. 



In a trip to the Klondyke one meets with ten differ- 
ent tribes of Indians, and it is well to know something 
of their habits, disposition and character. 

The Chiicats live nearest to the Coast, in the coun- 
try immediately surrounding the I,yun Canal. In all, 
there are only abrait i,ooo of them left, and their 
number is rapidly diminishing, owing to the demoral- 
izing effects the white men's vices have had upon 
them. While avaricious, tricky and shrewed in mak- 
ing a bargain, always forcing a white man to pay all 
they possibly can for their services, the}^ are generally 
reliable when engaged to transport supplies across the 
pass ; although cases have been known where, on 
reaching some difficult point on the journe)^ they 
have endeavored to raise the price for which they had 
contracted. When, however, they do work, they 
" will make long journeys across the mountains into 
the interior with heavy loads upon their backs, climb 
the mountain trails, struggle across great glaciers, 
wade icy streams, and, in a thinl}^ clad, half-starved 
condition, endure privations from which, to the tour- 
ist, it would seem death would be a welcome relief." 

Near Dawson and also at Juneau, the Indians 
make themselves useful in many ways — sawing lum- 
ber, building log cabins, unloading steamers, acting as 
guides to the miners while crossing the country, pack- 



38 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

ing provisions to the miners during the summer, and 
hauhng supplies on dog sleds during the winter. 

The Sticky Copper, and other tribes of the interior 
are of the vagabond order, and, aside from hunting, 
are of little assistance to the white men, and many of 
them positively will not work for wages. In supply- 
ing the miners with wild meat they always drive a 
good bargain. They are excellent hunters, and very 
skilful in the management of their birch bark canoes 
in the swift waters and rapids of the rivers. 

The traveler soon notices that there are but few old 
bucks or squaws in the Copper Tribe. It is related 
that during one of the attacks of the Copper In- 
dians upon the Yukon tribes, in 1882, for the pur- 
pose of stealing all the young squaws of the Yukons, 
the Coppers were not aware of the fact that the 
Yukons had received a number of guns and rifles 
from the traders. The attack was made with the 
crude and antiquated weapons of warfare of long 
ago, such as clubs, stone axes, bows and arrows, etc., 
and they met with the direst defeat. It was simply 
annihilation for all the warriors of the Copper tribe, 
and many of the squaws were also slain. 



RETURN TO CIVILIZATION. 



At the close of our first season's successful opera- 
tions we decided to visit home for the winter. So, 
arranging all our work for the coming year, we left 
Dawson City June 19th, of this year, 1897, on the 
steamer P. B. Weare, and came down .the Yukon 
nearly two thousand miles to its mouth, and thence 
to St. Michaels. 



CLEMENTS^ GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 89 

Nothing of an exciting nature was experienced 
coming out, since it was smooth sailing down the 
clear and chilly Yukon. Occasional stops were made 
to throw wood aboard for fuel, which was supplied 
by the Indians for "any old thing" the boat's 
officers chose to thrust upon them. Herds of moose 
and caribou, and numerous bear were seen, and occa- 
sionally the Indians would bring us some of their 
meat. 



PEOPLE FLOCKING IN, 



At the time of our leaving Dawson City, people in 
large numbers were arriving frequently, usually in 
squads. An amusing incident occurred a short time 
before we left. A big, black bear was seen standing 
on an ice floe, floating down the river to w^ards Dawson. 
He had evidently attempted to cross the stream when 
the ice broke up and set him adrift. He was acting 
the " Pathfinder," or drum major, for soon the arri- 
val of seventy-five boats of new comers occurred. 
The bear became the target for a host of shots and 
w^as soon dispatched by the "Mayor" of Dawson 
City. The meat was then divided equally between 
the rival cities of Dawson City and Klondyke, which 
occupy sites on opposite shores of the Klondyke 
River. 



OUR RETURN ROUTE. 



The Yukon route for coming out was selected for 
the reason that at that time of the year— June— the 
river is open and afforded a through trip without 
transfer of any kind from Dawson City to St. Michaels, 



40 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

while the Chilkoot Pass route would have required 
portage around the rapids, and packing over the pass 
itself. But the pass route should be taken either 
going in or coming out when the Yukon is not open, 
which is the case between the middle of September and 
May or June of the following year. Therefore, those 
who take the trail route in March or April will arrive at 
Dawson City ahead of those who wait until the mouth 
of the Yukon at St. Michaels is clear of icebergs — late 
in June. At the same time, it must not be forgotten 
that the Yukon route is round-about, for to reach 
Dawson City from San Francisco or Seattle this wa3^ 
is at least 3,000 miles further than by the Chilkoot 
Pass route. 

I am of the opinion that the Pass route within five 
years will be the popular route, since the pass could 
be made more accessible and easy to cross and a line 
of steamboats be established on the chain of lakes. 
This would not require more than two transfers 
around the rapids, and would give a steamer service 
from lyake Lindeman direct to Dawson City. It 
would also be a pleasanter, and a much shorter route 
than by the Yukon. 

Of course any transportation service over either of 
the routes would have to be adapted to the seasons. 
It would be almost impossible to get over the Chilkoot 
Pass between September ist and April ist and take any 
supplies. 

AT ST. MICHAELS. 



At St. Michaels, situated on an inlet of Behring 
Sea, which is the Trading Company's headquarters, 
and of but three hundred population, we embarked on 
the Steamer Portland, for Seattle. 








>s 







:i 









I 



%\ 



.'i^^'iVA.^ — 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 41 

An incident occurred here which fully illustrates an 
Alaskan miner's craving for fresh vegetables after a 
six months' winter at the diggings. Just, as we 
boarded the Portland we espied vSeveral sacks of 
potatoes and onions which were to be unloaded, but 
until each miner had his fill of them raw — some eating 
as many as seven potatoes — they were not transferred 
to the dock. Those who ate the onions actually shed 
tears at the sight of their companions eating raw 
potatoes. 

We looked forward to the ocean trip to Seattle as 
a great change from the smooth and unexciting trip 
down the Yukon, and we were not at all disappointed, 
for soon we were surrounded by icebergs so num- 
erous that the ship had to lay-to for several hours 
to allow them to pass by. Then followed a rough 
sea which caused the ship to pitch and roll until the 
cross bars dipped in the sea, and we enjoyed the ex- 
citing time, as the sailors sped aloft to furl the sails 
and obey other orders of the captain. 

Four days out from St. Michaels we arrived at 
Unalaska, where we were treated to a most agreeable 
change of scenic diet. Here we saw gardens and 
hillsides blossoming with flovv^ers and grasses, and 
such roses and violets ! I had never seen their equal 
even in Southern California, the land of flowers. 
After having lived months surrounded by either 
snow banks or clouds of mosquitoes this seemed a 
sure enough paradise. But it must not be forgot- 
ten that also in the arctic circle wild flowers of the 
most beautiful colors grow profusely, of which I 
secured quite a collection. 

After a one day's stay at Unalaska we continued our 
journey to Seattle, where we landed about July 15th. 



42 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 
KINGS OF THE KLONDYKE. 



The excitment caused by our arrival there with 
so much gold has been heralded throughout the 
world. It was owing to the way our gold was 
transferred that we received the name, ** Kings of 
the Klonkyke," and I was "accused" of having 
brought home a four-horse w^agon load of gold. One 
item that has gone the rounds of the press 
and has been copied into several books on the Klon- 
dyke, records how Mrs. Eli Gage, wife of the son of 
the Secretary of the Treasury, came from St. Michaels 
on the Portland to Seattle. She said : " This ship had 
on board the greatest of the fortune finders. Frank 
Phiscator, who went from Lower Michigan, had $96,- 
000. This I know to be a fact, as I saw the metal. 
Clarence J. Berry had more yet, and a man named 
Clements seemed to have a wagon full. These three 
men and one other were wise before they left the 
river. The}^ bought all the claims they could get, 
and it might be said that they are the kings of the 
Bonanza, the El Dorado and the other of the best 
known creeks. It is not possible for any human 
being to calculate how much they are worth." 

The wagon load story got spread abroad in this way. 
On our arrival at Seattle I went down to Wells 
Fargo' s Express Office to get a wagon to haul up our 
gold, while other members of our party stopped to 
guard it. When the wagon came — a heavy express 
wagon, with four fine horses — the gold was loaded 
into it, and the special messenger, handing me a short 
shot-gun, asked me to sit on the gold and help him 
protect it as it was taken to the office. On our arrival 
there the crowds that assembled stopped all traffic for 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 43 

one or two blocks, and they crowded into the express 
office simply to see the bags of precious nuggets and 
ask questions about them and the region from which 
they had come. 



ON TO SAN FRANCISCO AND HOME. 



But the metal was not long in Seattle. We left as 
early as possible by train for San Francisco, where 
the major part of my gold was stored for awhile, and 
then, parting with my friends, I journeyed with my 
wife and children, who had come there to meet me, 
on to our home in lyos Angeles. 



FACTS ABOUT ALASKA. 



The following interesting facts in brief about Alaska 
were prepared for and published in the Chicago Times- 
Herald by Mr. H. S. Canfield, and are so pertinent 
and timel}^ that they will well bear repetition in these 
pages : 

Alaska is two and one- half times as large as Texas. 

It is eight times as large as all New England. 

It is as large as the South excluding Texas. 

It is as large as all of the States east of the Missis- 
sippi and north of the Ohio, including Virginia and 
West Virginia. 

It makes San Francisco east of our center. 

Its coast line is 26,000 miles. 

It has the highest mountain in North America. 

It has the only forest covered glacier in the w^orld. 

The Treadwell is one of its greatest gold mines. 

It has the best yellow cedar in the world. 



14 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

It has the greatest seal fisheries. 

It has the greatest salmon fisheries. 

It has cod banks that beat Newfoundland. 

It has the largest river in the world. 

A man standing on the bank of the Yukon one 
hundred and fifty miles from its mouth cannot see the 
other side. 

The Yukon is twenty miles wide seven hundred 
miles from its mouth. 

With its tributaries it is navigable 2,500 miles. 

It is larger than the Danube. 

It is larger than La Plata. 

It is larger than the Orinoco. 

It discharges one-third more water than the Missis- 
sippi. 

The water is fresh fifteen miles from its mouth. 

It has more gold in its basin than any other river. 

Its color is beautifully blue to its junction with the 
White River, 1,110 miles above its mouth. 

Alaska runs 1,500 miles west of Hawaii. 

Yukon basin gold is estimated at $5,000,000,000. 

The necessary eruptive force for the formation of 
great fissure veins is everywhere evident in Alaska. 

Silk should be worn next the body, then woolens 
and then furs. 

Citric acid should be taken to prevent scurvy. 

The food there produces rectal diseases. Take 
medicine. 

Snow glasses should not be forgotten. 

Nowhere are mosquitoes so numerous. 

There are two kinds of poisonous fl.es. 

There are no snakes in Alaska. 

Moose are plentiful. The flesh resembles horse 
flesh. 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 45 

Capital of stock companies organized to do business 
in Alaska aggregates $200,000,000. 

It is probable that in twelve months Dawson will 
be within four days of Juneau. 

In central and northern Alaska the ground is frozen 
to a depth of two hundred feet. 

Snowfall in the interior is very light — 6 inches or so. 

The heaviest rain and snow are on the southeast 
coast. 

No land contains finer spruce timber. 

In its low temperatures gold filling in teeth con- 
tracts and falls out. Use amalgam. 

Men born in southern latitudes have become insane 
in the long dark. 

Take a chess board and men. They prevent 
dementia. 

The medicine chest should hold pills, pills, pills. 

A temperature of seventy-five degrees below zero 
has been recorded. 

When it gets lower than 50® there is no wind. 

A tent is as good as a house and is cheaper. 

No shelter is needed only when the wund blows. 
At other times a sleeping bag answers all purposes. 

Just below rapids ice forms only nine feet thick, 
and there fishing is done. In other places it will 
reach forty feet. 

In the dark season twilight lasts six hours and 
almost any kind of work can be done. 

Elk, caribou and grouse are common and easily 
killed. 

Don't eat snow or ice. Melt them. Else quinzy. 

In low temperature the inside of the throat some- 
times freezes. This is locally called " frost burning." 

For frozen fing^ers use cold water. 



46 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

You can bathe only the feet and face. 

Sweat under blankets in summer or get rheuma- 
tism. 

In summer all land not mountain is swamp. 

Under foot is ice cake, overhead twenty- two hours 
sun. 

Boil underclothing. Freeze sleeping bags, to pro- 
tect yourself from vermin. 

Talk on the ice-pack is heard half a mile. 

An expert placer miner can pan dr}^ 

Alaskan *Must " is as big as wheat. 

Some gold is fine enough to float. 

Wear silk gloves and then fur. 
- The Eskimo is virtuous, the Chilkat is not. 

Canadian police are highly efficient. 

Reindeer will be the future locomotives. 

Alaskan dogs are wonderfully intelligent — the 
result of selection and heredit}^ 

The natives eat much deca5^ed fish. ^- 

Thousands of miners trom other nations will go. 

A Chicago company leads in Alaskan exploration. 

Hay grows as high as a man's head. 

All streams show true gold fissures. 

Take plenty of flour. Buy all you think you 
need, then buy more. lyast winter a man killed 
himself, because he had five pounds of baking pow- 
der and no flour. 

Under act of Congress communities of miners can 
make their own laws. 

No thief gets a fairer trial anywhere, nor any 
prompter execution. 

Make caches on platforms six feet high. Wolves. 

It will pay you to wait a year or two. It costs 
$1, GOO now and will cost $200 then. 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 47 

All distances are gigantic. It is 2,000 miles from 
Sitka to Klondyke. 

A boat leaving Dawson September 20 is chased 
to the mouth by freezing water. 

All wood in the Aleutian Islands grew on glaciers 
in Alaska. 

Whole forests break into the sea. 

Some streams are bridged by glaciers. 

Some wood is beautifully polished by glacial action. 

Avalanches in the interior are unknown. 

Owing to the dryness there is not much suffering 
from the cold. 

Take a 40-80 rifle with telescope sights. 

Exposed portions of the body freeze in three min- 
utes. 

Enough library: One Bible. One Shakespeare. 

Snow shoes not needed in the mine countr3^ 

Buy mines from discouraged miners. 

Trading companies will not carry goods for com- 
petitors. 

Next year competition will bring down the prices 
50 per cent. 

Meals on the boat up the river cost $1 each. 



48 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 



CHAPTER II 



HOW TO REACH THE KLONDYKE. 



SHALL I GO TO THE KLOiNDYKE? 



The questions asked of me ofteuest since m}^ return 
from the Klondyke gold fields are: 

What are the prospects for one who goes to Alaska? 

Would you advise me to go ? 

These are both important and serious questions; 
important and serious to the man asking them, and 
equally important and serious to the man answering 
them. In answering them I presuppose that the man, 
(or woman, for I have often been asked these ques- 
tions by a woman), asking them is seeking honest 
advice, on which to a certain extent he will act in 
deciding whether to go or not. His hopes of w^ealth 
depend, perhaps, upon my answer, and I know full 
well, that many a man's life has been sacrificed to fol- 
lowing bad advice given in answer to the two above 
questions. Hence the answering of them is a most 
solemn and serious matter to me. 

I write thus fully and freely in the commencement 
that there may be no misunderstanding of my position. 
I am determined that no man shall be able to come to 
me, when I return to Alaska, and say, " Because I 
followed your advice, w^hich was thoughtlessly and 






O k- 




CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 49 

carelessly given, I am here and in desperate straits!" 

Hence, if I make any mistakes in the following 
answers and explanations they are errors of judgment 
and knowledge, and not errors caused by carelessness 
or indifference. 

Now, having thus fully relieved my mind, I answer 
the two forementioned quCvStions by saying: 

If you must go to the Klondyke country and cannot 
rest until you do, go by all means, regardless of the 
advice given by those who have been there ; but if 
you have any regard for your comfort, or perhaps for 
your life, or if you have any family ties, think twice 
before starting, and then think seriously again. Learn 
as much as you can of the countr}^ and what the jour- 
ney means, for it is about an even chance now that 
unless you do you may never return. In getting there 
every man must endure hardships of some kind, — that 
is certain. But it is not equally certain that every 
man wall obtain the wealth he desires after he has un- 
dergone those hardships. Therefore, I neither say 
''Go!" nor ''Stay!" 

I am fully satisfied there is gold there — tons of gold 
— but too much has been said and written about it, 
and much too little about the hardships and perils to 
be encountered. 



INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT OUTFIT, ETC. 



Other questions frequently asked are : What 
outfit is necessary and what will such a trip cost ? I 
know these are natural questions, but to answer 
them is not so easy. I will try to give you, in a 
general way, a list of just what a man needs ; but let 
me say, the equipment depends not only on the size 



50 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE, 

of a man's purse, but upon the man himself. It 
were better to go into that country with ten times 
as much food as is needed and a little money, than 
to take a small supply of food and plenty of money, 
for, once there, money will not always buy food. 

The matter of clothing is not of so great importance 
as that of food, for clothing can be obtained with 
comparative ease— that is, clothing such as will 
keep out the cold. 

Every man who starts should take along enough 
food to last him a year at least. Twice that much 
would be so much the better, for food can always 
be disposed of there. Another point to be consid- 
ered is the selection of such iood as will not spoil 
for a long time. The cold, of course, acts as a pre- 
servative, but it will not keep all kinds of eatables. 
Good coarse food that nourishes is the kind needed, 
and, as I have before stated, that climate gives a 
man an enormous appetite. If a man is going to 
stay, say eighteen months, the following would answer 
his purpose. It can be varied to suit the taste: 

PROVISIONS. 

Bacon, 200 pounds. 
Flour, 800 to 1,000 pounds. 
• Corn meal, 200 pounds. 
Rice, 50 pounds. 
Coffee, parched, 75 pounds. 
Assorted dried fruits, 200 pounds. 
Tea, 40 pounds. 
Sugar, 100 pounds. 
Beans, 200 pounds. 

Evaporated vegetables, any large amount. 
Milk (condensed), i or 2 cases. 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 51 

This list can be changed to suit the person taking 
it, my purpose in giving it being simply to give some 
idea of the quantity. 

One expert gives a month's list as follows, the 
tools he names being for the purpose of making a 
boat at Lake Bennett and keeping it in repair on 
the trip : 

Twenty pounds of flour, with baking powder. 

Twelve pounds of bacon. 

Six pounds of beans. 

Five pounds of dessiccated vegetables. 

Four pounds of butter. 

Five pounds of sugar. 

Four cans of milk. 

One pound of tea. 

Three pounds of coffee. 

Two pounds of salt. 

Five pounds of corn meal. 

Pepper, mustard. 

The following utensils would not be too many : 

One frying pan. 

One water kettle. 

One Yukon stove. 

One bean pot. 

Two plates. 

One drinking cup. 

One teapot. 

One knife and fork. 

One large and one small cooking pan. 

Gill net for fishing. 

The following tools are necessary for boat building : 

One jack plane. 

One whipsaw. » 

One hand saw. 



52 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

One rip saw. 

One draw knife. 

One axe. 

One hatchet. 

One pocket knife. 

Six pounds of assorted nails. 

Three pounds oakum. 

Three pounds of pitch. 

Fifty feet of five-eighths rope. 

Other necessities would be a tent, a rubber blanket, 
mosquito netting and matches. It is also desirable to 
take along a small, well filled medicine chest, a rifle, 
a trout line and a pair of snow glasses, to provide 
against snow blindness. 

The wood working tools taken should include 
everything needed for almost any kind of rough car- 
penter work, from the building of a boat or a sled to 
the erection of a cabin, the putting in of sluice boxes, 
hoisting buckets, water flumes, etc. It should be 
remembered that where a large party goes, one or two 
complete sets of tools for woodwork will be sufficient. 



CLOTHING. 



The equipment in clothing necessarily depends 
upon the person. A whole clothing store is not 
necessary. Underwear, both heavy and medium 
weight, of good quality, is needed, and a most impor- 
tant matter is the proper covering for the feet. 
Rubber hip-boots, good woolen socks, strong boots 
and shoes, are necessary, for much walking will have 
to be done. There are no street railways in the 
Klondyke. Two or three heavy sweaters will be 
found to be worth more than their weight in gold. 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 53 

The miners in that country always adopt to a certain 
extent the dress of the natives, and in such dress it is 
not difficult to keep warm. Great range in tempera- 
ture must be expected. The average temperature in 
winter is 40 degrees below zero, and it will sometimes 
vary 40 or 50 degrees in one or two hours. That, of 
course, adds to the discomfort, but one must go 
expecting such things. 

Take a fur robe, eight feet wide by ten feet long, 
made of skins with a long, light hair, like a fox or 
lynx or cub bear. A full grown bear's skin is too 
heavy. These can be bought in San Francisco or 
Seattle for one third or one fourth the amount that 
must be paid for them on the Klondyke. Although 
this is a country of fur bearing animals, the Alaska 
Commercial and other Trading Companies buy up all 
the furs from the trappers and natives, so that the 
miners have no opportunity to obtain them except at 
exorbitant prices. A good fur robe, however, is 
invaluable, being worth four pairs of ordinary 
blankets for warmth and comfort. 

As advice in regard to clothing varies considerably, 
I quote herewith from a very practical man, Mr. 
Brownlie, in an interview, says : 

* ' I think a great many people are making a mistake 
in their clothing outfit. One should take as little as 
possible, as he will need all his strength to carry the 
necessary provisions and himself over the ' divide.' 
What he needs are skins and furs, and they can gen- 
erally be bought to much better advantage in Juneau 
than anywhere else. When you are out in the snow 
and ice, woolens and blankets will do you little good. 
A man should live as much like the Indians as pos- 
sible. The best protection against the cold is a bag 



54 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

made of skin, thoroughly oiled, large enough to hold 
a man. 

' ' A man can get into such a bag and draw it tightly 
about his neck, having his head covered with furs, 
and he can pass a fairly comfortable night, half-buried 
in the snow." 

Remember also to take needles and thread. A good 
rifle of large caliber and a revolver using the same 
size cartridge will, of course, be taken, for game is 
plentiful. 

MEDICINES. 



It is well to be provided with a small medicine chest 
well filled with all the simpler forms of medicine, ban- 
dages, surgical needles, etc. One never knows what 
may happen, and it is well to be personally provided. 
Any reputable druggist will put up such a chest, with 
remedies for colds, coughs, chilblains, diarrhoea, con- 
stipation and the like, and, as scurvey sometimes 
seems to claim quite a number of victims, it is well to 
have a good supply of a blood purifier and an anti- 
scorlentic. Lime juice is a good preventive of scurvey 
and a few bottles will always come in useful. 



POWDER FOR BLASTING. 



In none of the published lists that I have seen has 
blasting powder been mentioned. My experience, 
however, assures me that it would be a great help to 
the miner, and that every outfit ought to have at least 
two hundred or three hundred pounds, with the 
necessary hammers and drills for drilling, as well as a 
sufficient quantit)^ of fuse. 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 55 

PREPARE FOR THE MOSQUITOES. 

Read what I have said about the mosquitoes in 
summer time earlier in these pages, and then decide 
for yourself. Some use the ordinary mosquito netting, 
and no doubt all persons will, some time or another, 
find it useful. Others have had helmets of very fine 
copper wire netting made to fit over a broad brimmed 
hat — not too heavy an one — and a black cloth bottom 
to it which is placed over the chest and shoulders 
between the undershirt and overshirt. In this way 
perfect freedom of movement is allowed to the head 
and shoulders, and yet the pest cannot crawl in under- 
neath the netting. In this matter, however, as in all 
others, each person must decide for himself how to 
meet the pests. Do not allow yourself to think, 
though, that the mosquitoes are a trifling matter, to 
be lightly passed by. As someone has written : '* The 
Yukon mosquito is king of his tribe. He actually 
hunts and kills betirs along that mighty river. This 
is told and pictured by no less an authority than 
lyieut. Schwatka in his well-known published account 
of his exploration of the Yukon a number of years 
ago. Bears under stress of hunger sometimes come 
down to the river in mosquito season, and are 
attacked by swarms of insects, which sting them 
about the eyes so that they go blind and die of starva- 
tion. A prominent Yukon miner said that the mos- 
quito had been known to bite through a thick moose 
skin mitten." 

PRICE OF OUTFIT. 

A complete outfit will cost between $750 and $1000. 
Don't go into that country without at least $500, 
or more. 



56 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

The entire outfit can be obtained in Juneau, where 
one can be sure of getting just what is needed, without 
any extra weight, which is a matter of great import- 
ance, as many hard portages are to be encountered on 
the trip. Hitherto prices in Juneau have been reason- 
able. Of course one cannot say what may be the re- 
sult of the present rush in the way of raising prices. 

These lists ought to give a thoughtful man a fair 
idea as to what he should take to be safe. I would 
advise that, at present, these supplies be purchased at 
Seattle, or inquiries made of reliable parties there to 
find out whether they can surely be obtained at 
Juneau. When we purchased, we found the prices 
for food, clothing and mining supplies about the same 
at Juneau and Seattle as in San Francisco, and, in 
purchasing at the former places, the trouble and 
expense of shipping so far is avoided. Of course it is 
quite possible that now these things can be purchased 
on the Klondyke, but prices no doubt would be very 
high. I bought shovels at Dawson and paid $17.00 
each for them, and picks at $8.00. 



FRAUDS IN OUTFITTINa. 



In making your purchases, be sure and visit some 
reputable tradesman in whatever city you purchase. 
Beware of slop-shops, frauds and bogus outfitters. 
Many a merchant in San Francisco and along Puget 
Sound is getting rich selling prospective miners bogus 
outfits, and they might as well steal their victims' 
mone3^ The poor, green tenderfoot who knows not 
what he needs, is gathered in and induced to buy a 
vast amount of goods for which he has no earthly use, 
and which he will throw away before he crosses the 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. hi 

pass. The goods are of an inferior quality and the 
poor fellow is started on the journey in almost as bad 
a fix as if he had nothing. I suppose there is no way 
of stopping this traffic, but it will cause untold suffer- 
ing to hundreds. 

ACTUAL PRICES PAID AT DAWSON CITY. 



The following is a recent list pu])lished, giving the 
prices of a general store in Dawson City : 

Flour, per loo pounds $12 00 

Moose ham, per pound i 00 

Caribou meat, per pound 65 

Beans, per pound 10 

Rice, per pound -5 

Sugar, per pound 25 

Bacon, per pound 4^ 

Butter, per roll i 5^ 

Eggs, per dozen i 50 

Better eggs, per dozen 2 00 

Salmon, each $1 to i 50 

Potatoes, per pound " • 25 

Turnips, per pound 15 

Tea, per pound i 00 

Coffee, per pound ,50 

Dried fruits, per pound 35 

Canned fruits 5° 

Canned meats 75 

Lemons, each 20 

Oranges, each 5° 

Tobacco, per pound i 5° 

Liquors, per drink 5^ 

Shovels 2 50 

Picks 5 00 



58 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

Coal oil, per gallon i oo 

Overalls i 50 

Underwear, per suit $5 to 7 50 

Shoes 5 00 

Rubber boots $10 to 15 00 

Another list of prices paid may be useful, as show- 
ing amounts actually expended in August, 1897, at 
Circle City, Alaska. This outfit was ordered by C. A. 
Bevan, of Iowa, an experienced miner, and copied by 
his courtesy, from the original,. by Palmer Henderson: 

10 sacks flour at $5 $ 50 00 

Bacon, 120 lbs 48 00 

Beans, 2 sks 19 25 

Dried peas, i sk., 50 lbs 10 00 

Rice, I sk. , 50 lbs 10 00 

Rolled oats, 5 sks., 50 lbs 5 50 

Sugar, I sk., 50 lbs 20 00 

Lard, 1 case, 60 lbs 18 00 

Peaches, i bx., 25 lbs 7 50 

Apples, I bx. , 25 lbs 7 50 

Prunes, i bx. , 25 lbs 7 50 

Raisins, 2 bxs. , 20 lbs 2 50 

Dried potatoes, i bx., 25 lbs 

Dried onions, 5 cans, 5 lbs 5 00 

Dried cabbage, 5 cans, 5 lbs , 3 75 

Baking powder, 5 cans, 5 lbs 5 00 

Butter, 25 rolls, 50 lbs 25 00 

Eagle milk, i case 48 lbs 20 00 

Candles, i box, 25 lbs 6 00 

Coffee, 20 lbs 10 00 

Tea, 5 lbs 5 00 

Salt, 2 sks. , 10 lbs i 00 

Pepper, 4 cans, i lb 2 00 

Mustard, 2 cans, i lb 2 00 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 59 

Mixed pickles, 4 jars, i gal 4 00 

Tomatoes, i case, 72 lbs 12 00 

Corn, I case, 48 lbs 8 00 

Corned beef, 12 cans, 24 lbs 6 00 

Sausage, 12 cans, 24 lbs 6 00 

Vinegar, >^ gal. 5 lbs 

Maple syrup, ^ gal. 5 lbs i 50 

Toilet soap, 12 bars, 6 lbs 6 00 

Laundry soap, 12 bars, 12 lbs i 50 

Matches, 8 bunches i 00 

Seal smoking tobacco, i butt, 10 lbs 15 00 

Oil, 5 gals. 40 lbs 5 60 

2 picks 1 2 GO 

2 shovels 5 00 

1 gold pan 2 GO 

2 pairs gum boots 24 go 

2 pairs overalls 5 00 

1 suit mackinaw ig gg 

SUMMER. 

2 pairs gum boots 24 og 

1 pair shoes 5 00 

2 pairs overalls 5 00 

Hat 5 00 

Mosquito net 3 00 

wintp:r. 

Caribou or rabbit robe 25 gg 

Wolf or lynx robe ( iog gg) 

Mittens, 3 pairs, at $2.50 7 5° 

Moccasins, 5 pairs at $1.50 7 50 

Waterboots, i pair 3 00 

Cap 7 50 

Drill poncho 5 00 

Fur poncho . 25 gg 

Underwear for j^ear 25 gg 



60 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

Dinsmore's bedding, including pillow for traveling, 
weight 6^ pounds, explained my boyhood's wonder 
how a man could take up his bed and walk. 

From these lists it will be seen that prices vary, and 
a man must decide for himself when, where and how 
he will outfit. The state of his purse, his object in 
going, the length of his stay, the amount of time he 
can spend going in, and other considerations will 
influence him in his decisions. I have given my sug- 
gestions and advice to the ordinary miner, who has 
money enough to provide all he will need for business 
and comfort. 

DETEHINATION OF ROUTE. 



This is one of the most important matters, and yet 
one of the most difficult, both to advise about and to 
decide upon. As my narrative in the earlier pages 
states I went in by the Chilkoot Pass, and, in spite of 
all the difficulties and dangers, I am inclined to think 
it is the best and safest route, as it certainly is the 
quickest. But each man must decide for himself. 
When I returned I came down the Yukon to St. 
Michaels, and, therefore, I am familiar with that way 
out. These two routes are the only ones I know per- 
sonally. I will give here, however, a few statements 
in regard to other routes which, while I do not guar- 
antee through personal knowledge, I think may be 
relied upon. 

The wisest plan, however, for the prospective 
traveler to follow, will be to investigate the. condition 
of the various routes a month or so previous to the 
date of his starting. Thus he will gain the latest in- 
formation. The fact that so many people are anxious 



CLEMENIS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE, Gl 

to go the Gold Fields, undoubtedly will lead to the 
improvement of present routes or the opening of new 
ones before the Spring of 1898, so that descriptions 
given now of the states of the various routes may be 
entirely changed by the time m}^ readers are ready 
to go. 

THE SKAGUAY PASS. 



Last August the Skaguay Pass was impassable. At 
that time the New York World sent out Sylvester 
Scovel with full instructions to blast out the pass and 
make it reasonably a<;:cessible. Skaguay, then, was a 
wretched place, muddy with the continuous rains and 
crowded with people vainly trying to cross the impass- 
able mountains. The town was built in a hurry, of 
rough lumber, tents, and the like, to accommodate 
these travelers, and is situate near the shore and 
almost surrounded by high mountains. As one man 
describes it : " It is in a pit, made by these towering 
mountains, which break the clouds so that the rain 
pours upon us in a perfect deluge." 

The same writer, in a letter dated August 28, 1897, 
thus describes the labor of getting over the pass : 
"There is a tremendous press of men, horses, mules, 
donkeys, and bullocks, passing over the trail, or 
mountains. Two rivers to ford and a terrible bad and 
muddy pass to get over. Every night some of the 
men who are packing over the pass come into Skaguay 
for a day or two of rest. They say it is mighty hard 
work to pack more than fifty pounds on their back 
and one hundred and fifty pounds on a horse. For 
packing over the pass, a distance of six miles, packers 
receive nine cents per pound. In the first place, they 



62 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

take the baggage and provisions up to the pass, a dis- 
tance of three miles in carts. These carts are of home 
construction and resemble small hand carts. Two 
poles are attached for shafts, between which a horse is 
hitched. One man, with a pack on his back, leads 
the animal while another guides the shafts from 
behind. It is the greatest fun in the place to watch 
the funny ways in which everyone attempts to have 
his baggage and stuff taken away or stored in a tent. " 

Mr. R. H. Stretch, a mining engineer . of Seattle, 
thus reported on the Skaguay Trail, after a thirty 
days' examination. His report is dated September 6, 
1897: 

' * Skaguay Valley was once occupied by a huge 
glacier. Near the low^er end the rocks are ancient 
sedimentary or stratified deposits, with innumerable 
dikes and stringers of granitic aspect, but all the 
upper portions of the valley and the summit of the 
range are nothing but a very coarse granite, without 
any trace of any structure, but with very strongly- 
marked nearly horizontal bedding planes, cut by 
nearly vertical cleavage joints. The action of the ice, 
which formerly plowed its wa3^ down the valley, has 
ground these rocks to polished surfaces, the vertical 
faces supporting only a few lichens ; while the hori- 
zontal benches, before the advent of the gold-seekers, 
were covered wnth a thick carpet of moss and lichens, 
which, though with but a very frail hold on the rocks, 
gave a sure and satisfactory foothold. 

*' In few places are there pebbles or boulders, and 
but few rock slides, but where these do exist, the in- 
dividual boulders are so large and massed so irregu- 
larly that travel over them is more difficult than over 
the solid unbroken benches. Of earth there is prac- 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 63 

tically none, but in the course of ages a black vegetable 
deposit has accumulated in some of the crevices and in 
potholes along the river bottom. Scrubby timber, 
spruce, birch and alder, finds a foothold in the crevices, 
the latter chiefly in the wetter bottoms, and over such 
material the trail finds its way. 

' ' Distances from Skaguay are : First crossing of 
river, one and one-half miles ; end of road, three and 
one-half miles ; small lake, five miles ; Porcupine 
Creek, seven and one-half miles ; second crossing of 
river bridge, eleven and one-half miles; third crossing 
of river bridge, thirteen and one- half miles; fourth cross- 
ing of river bridge, fourteen and one-half miles ; fifth 
crossing of river, ford, seventeen and one-half miles ; 
summit, nineteen miles ; Meadows, twenty-six miles ; 
Lake Bennett, forty-two miles. 

' ' Five miles out at the lake the elevation is four 
hundred and sixty feet. The trail quickly ascends to 
eight hundred and ten feet, then sinks to four hun- 
dred and seventy at Porcupine Creek. In a short dis- 
tance the elevation is 1,400, and the patch zigzags 
down to the second crossing, 1,000 feet elevation. 
The fourth bridge is 1,400 feet above the sea, and the 
trail almost at once goes upward to 2,100 feet. A 
descent is then made to the ford, 1,800 feet high, and 
then comes the climb to the summit, an elevation of 
2,600 feet. From this point to the lakes the trail is 
not extremely difficult." 

Mr. Stretch says there is no danger to human life in 
making the trip. 

THE WHITE PASS. 

Five miles below Dyea, at the head of the Lynn 
Canal, and about eighty-five miles north of Juneau is 



64 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE, 

Skaguay bay, where the landing is made for the 
White Pass. This bay is a fine natural harbor, and 
ships of the largest size can steam into it and find 
good anchorage. 

From the harbor the trail follows the Skaguay 
river to its head, which is near the summit of the 
pass, a distance of sixteen miles. The first four miles 
are in the bed of the river and the ascent is 
gradual. At four miles the canyon is reached, and 
here the route becomes more difficult. For seven 
miles the trail works its way along the mountain side 
rising steadily for almost the entire distance. This is 
the only hard part of the route. The next three miles 
is a gentle rise, and they carry the trail to the summit, 
an elevation of 2,600 feet above the sea level. The 
country here broadens out into a valley five miles wide, 
having a gentle slope to the east. In the twenty miles 
between the summit and Windy Arm, or Tagish lake, 
the total descent is only 340 feet. From the summit, 
valleys also extend to Lindeman lake and Taku arm 
on Tagish lake. 

CHIL KAT PASS. 

About one hundred and twenty-five miles from the 
head of the Chilkat Inlet, brings the traveler to the 
Tahkeena River. "' This was the old trail used by the 
Indians to and from the interior and leads all the way 
through to old Fort Selkirk by land. Jack Dalton 
has used this trail at times in taking horses to the 
interior, portaging to the Tahkeena, then by raft down 
that river to the Lewes, thus proving that the Tah- 
keena is navigable for a small stern-wheel steamer for 
a distance of some seventy miles." * 

* From Wilsou's Guide to the Yukon, published by the Calvert Co., 
Seattle. Wash. 




Dawson Citv. Alaska. 




St. Michaels, Alaska. 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 65 
THE TAKU ROUTE. 



There has been some talk of a route being under- 
taken by the Canadian Government to open up the 
country beyond the Coast Range from Taku, which is 
full of timber and good grazing land. This route would 
lead up the Taku Inlet to the Coast Range, thence by 
a low pass, a distance of about eighty-five miles, to 
waters running into Lake Teslin; thence across this 
body of water and down the Hootalinqua River. All 
the dangerous places encountered on the Chilkoot 
route, as Windy Arm, the Grand Canyon, the White 
Horse Rapids, etc, would be avoided by following this 
route, except the Five Finger Rapids, which, as I have 
shown, need not be greatly feared. 



THE STICKINE RIVER ROUTE. 



Another route is the proposed Stickine River route, 
somewhat similar to the Taku route, w^hich one writer 
speaks most highly of. By this route one would 
go to Fort Wrangle from Seattle or San Fran- 
cisco, thence up the Stickine River, a distance 
of one hundred and forty miles to Telegraph 
Creek. From this point an overland journey of ninety 
miles must be made to the head of Lake Teslin, and 
thence down the Hootalinqua to the Yukon. 



THE COPPER RIVER ROUTE- 



1 have been asked many questions about this route 
and the following is all the information I am able to 
give. This I have gleaned in conversation, mainly 
with the Indians and traders. The statement has 
been made that the Indians do not desire the white 



66 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

man in their territory, and confirmation is offered in 
the shape of a tragic story of three or four prospectors 
having been murdered by them. But on questioning 
the Indians they repudiate the idea of their having 
caused the death of a single white man, and say they 
want the white miners to go and have a trading post 
established. The}^ bring in big chunks of copper that 
seem as if cut from a large body with an axe, and they 
say there is ** Hi-u " — plenty of it, as well as " Hi-u 
Gold." They offer to guide white men to the de- 
posits. There is an Indian trail across from Forty-Mile 
Post to the head of Copper River. 

From lyt. Allen's Reconaissance of the Copper River, 
made to the Secretary of War, in 1885, I learn that 
it would be impossible for any party to go to the 
Klondyke by this route depending upon the river as 
^ means of traveling. In a number of places boats 
would have to be totally abandoned, long and ardu- 
ous portages made, passes climbed and new boats 
built for a continuation of the trip. No person should 
attempt this route until he has read lyt. Allen's report. 



riACKENZIE RIVER ROUTE. 



The Chicago Inter-Ocean of September 14, 1897, 
contained a map with description of a route which 
might be taken from Calgary, a point on the Canadian 
Pacific main line, connecting with Edmonton, a town 
at the terminus of a small branch line. By this route 
one would go by wagon from Edmonton — a four day 's 
journey — to Athabasca, landing on the Athabasca 
River. From this point the trip can be made the whole 
way by water — with the exception of a few short 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 67 

portages, — down the Atbabaska, Slave and Mackenzie 
Rivers to where the Porcupine flows very near. Here 
a half mile portage transfers the boats from the Mac- 
kenzie to the Porcupine, and four hundred miles down 
this river brings one to Fort ' Yukon, on the Yukon 
River, where Dawson City, though three hundred 
miles away, seems very near. This route is 3,000 
miles from Athabasca, but is recommended as a safe, 
convenient and pleasant route at all seasons of the 
year. To one contemplating journeying this way the 
better plan would be to write to the Inter-Ocean, Chi- 
cago, and ask for the latest particulars in regard to it. 



THE YUKON RIVER ROUTE. 



This is the easiest of all the routes, but it is the 
longest w^ay around, and it can only be taken after the 
ice has left the mouth of the river in June. From San 
Francisco to St. Michaels, a small island in the 
Behring Sea, is 2,871 miles ; from Seattle 2,174 miles, 
and from Juneau 2,150 miles. Then from St. 
Michaels up the Yukon is about 1897 miles. St. 
Michaels is not at the mouth of the Yukon, as so 
many people imagine, but is north of it. For many 
years it has been a trading post, the Alaska Commer- 
cial Company having an establishment there, and the 
North American Trading and Transportation Com- 
pany also. Both companies carry large and well 
selected stocks of goods, the former being the old 
trading company, and the latter the new and progres- 
sive company, whose river boats, the P. B. Weare, 
John Cudahy, C. H. Hamilton, J. J. Healy, T. C. 
Power, and Klondyke will convey passengers from 
St. Michaels to the Klondyke region as soon as the 



68 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

Spring of 1898 opens. The Alaska Commercial Com- 
pany also has its boats, one of which, the Arctic, has 
done good service on the Yukon for some years. The 
trip from St, Michaels to the mouth of the Yukon is 
very interesting. **Many noted points are passed 
and active volcanoes seen. Wild fowl, fur seal, wal- 
rus and whale can be observed from the ship's deck 
almost any day. The curio seeker can reap a rich 
harvest, for few who visit this country have time or 
inclination to indulge in the collection of specimens. 
The Indians about St. Michaels are very ingenious 
and industrious."* They have great faculty in carving 
ivory upon which all the events of their lives are 
vividly portrayed. 

THE CHILKOOT PASS. 



This, though the shortest pass to traverse, is the 
highest, being one thousand feet higher than any of 
the others. It is the pass, however, I prefer, and by 
which I expect to return to the gold fields. Starting 
at Dyea, where the North American Trading and 
Transportation Company has a large store, it follows 
the Dyea river for about eight miles. Then it enters 
the canyon, which is followed up to Sheep Camp. 
This is on the timber line and from there on to the 
summit the scene is one of extreme desolation. No 
vegetation of any kind can be seen for miles around 
the summit, and glaciers abound. The total length 
of the trail from Dyea to Lake lyindeman is about 
twenty-five miles. The complete journey by this 
route has already been outlined in m)^ personal narra- 
tive and will be still further explained in the following 
pages. 

* From Wilson's Guide to the Yukon. 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDVKE. 69 



WHEN TO START. 



It is an important matter to decide when to start. 
It is a common thing to read of people having to 
wait at Sheep Camp a month for an opportunity to 
cross the summit. James Brownlie thinks the best 
time to leave San Francisco is early in February, or 
not later than the middle of the month, arriving at 
Sheep Camp early in March, when there ought to be 
no difficulty in getting over the Pass. But seasons 
differ, and in one year March might be the best pos- 
sible time, and another, the worst. But certain it is 
that in the dead of winter it is almost suicide to 
attempt to cross the pass, and in the late Spring the 
thaw sets in and makes traveling dangerous from 
avalanches and such accidents as the one recently 
described in the newspapers as occurring at Sheep 
Camp by a fall of snow, boulders and ice. 

In summer the heat is so intense and the boulders 
and tree roots so difficult to get over that it is not 
wise to attempt the trip at this season. 

Another advantage of an early spring start is that 
the lakes and streams are nearly all frozen over. 
This makes sledding possible for many miles in cross- 
ing the lakes before the open water is reached, and 
this is generally much easier than rowing, especially 
when the wind is so that a sail can be hoisted. 

Therefore, to those who wish to go over the Chil- 
koot Pass I would say : Start so as to reach Sheep 
Camp some time in March— the earlier in the month 
the better ; and to those who wish to go down the 
Yukon from St. Michaels : Start on the steamer that 
will connect with the first river boat, l)ut don't be 



70 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

disappointed if 3^011 have to wait awhile for the break- 
ing up of the ice. 

The starting time for the other routes must be 
determined by circumstances, if there are any of my 
readers who contemplate going by any one of them. 



THE START. 



Outfit provided or arranged for, route determined 
upon, ticket obtained, the traveler is ready for the 
journey. 

It is my purpose under this heading to give my reader 
something to occupy his mind while on the steamer, 
and thus help to relieve the monotony of an ocean 
journey. 

A caution or two may not be out of place and a 
little information in regard to the mineral resources of 
the Yukon region, the game to be found and the min- 
ing laws in existence will enable the traveler better 
to understand the country than if he arrives there 
without this knowledge. 

It is well to avoid forming fast associations or part- 
nerships on the journey with strangers of whom you 
know nothing. Wait until you have some knowledge 
of the character of a man before you associate your- 
self with him in any undertaking. There will be lots 
of sharpers and rogues going to the Klondyke as soon 
as spring opens, and they will be on the lookout for 
every person they can victimize. So a little caution 
will not be exercised in vain. 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE, 71 
BOGUS niNING CLAinS. 



Another thing it is well for every man to beware o^ 
and to have well fixed in mind. Beware of bogus 
mining claims. The sharper with the alleged mining 
stock for sale is getting in his work and many a man 
who cannot go to Alaska is parting with his money 
for shares of stock in mines which have no existence. 
Of course there are many of the claims which have 
been sold which are really worth the money and more, 
but I would say to a prospective purchaser. Be care- 
ful. Buy from a reputable, responsible person, if at 
all. Don't gobble up cheap stock, either before you 
start, on the way, or after you arrive at the Klondyke 
Know what you are doing before you part with a 
cent, or agree either verbally or in writing to make 
any purchase. A little delay, and a little extra cau- 
tion will certainly not do any harm and it may save 
the impulsive and unwary man from being swindled 
of all he has, by unprincipled sharpers. 



TRADING COnPANIES. 



The Alaska Commercial Company and the North 
American Trading and Transportation Company, at 
present occupy the field. But there will undoubtedly 
be a great opening for large companies if the gold 
regions continue to give forth their precious metal. If 
companies of great financial strength should engage 
in business, they could soon command a large and 
profitable trade, as competition is always healthy and 
desirable. 



72 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 
THE FORMATION OF MINING COMPANIES. 



The mining laws of the Northwest Territor}^ of 
Canada are not favorable to organizations formed for 
working claims, as each miner is not only allowed but 
one claim in each district, but, should he dispose of 
this one, he cannot locate another one in the same dis- 
trict in the future. The area of the districts varies, 
the size depending mostly on adaptable natural boun- 
daries, such as mountain chains, rivers and creeks. 



THE MINERAL RESOURCES. 



Of the gold resources of the Klondyke region much 
has been written and much more said. There is no 
doubt that the country contains vast quantities of 
gold, as yet uncovered. 

There are large areas that have never yet been pros- 
pected both on the American and the Canadian sides, 
and many men will be as fortunate as we have been. 
But it is almost equally certain that many will pros- 
pect in vain. 

Gold, however, is not the only mineral resource of 
the Klondyke region and of Alaska in general. As I 
have said, in speaking of the Copper River Route, 
there are wonderful deposits of copper all through 
that region, and in many parts of Alaska. The vast 
demand for this metal makes copper properties almost 
as valuable as gold, if the deposit is rich and easil}^ 
accessible. Hence some wise prospector will devote 
his time and attention to copper, and gain just as 
much wealth as if he prospected for the more valuable 
metal. 

The coal deposits of Alaska are destined ere long 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 78 

to be exceedingl}^ valuable to the Pacific Coast. There 
are vast beds, and the country itself, with its fast in- 
creasing population, can use up a large amount. Few 
people are aware that on El Dorado Creek the wood 
used in thawing out our ground cost us about $300 a 
cord. Imagine the value coal would have to us 
with wood at such a price, and as the mining regions 
increase in size the demand for coal as fuel will 
become imperious. Hence money is to be made by 
some one in controling and distributing the coal of 
the country. 

Of the iron, platinum and othe^ valuable minerals, 
various reports are made, and it is unquestionable that, 
some day, the vast deposits that exist will be utilized- 



THE QAflE OF THE YUKON. 



As yet, the whole Yukon basin is almost a virgin 
field for the hunter. The few Indians of the region 
do not kill the game as fast as it increases, so that the 
hunter and fisherman have good prospects of fine sport 
ahead of them. The moose is abundant. In summer 
some of them have a wonderful spread of horns and 
grow to a weight of 1,500 pounds. When fat its flesh 
is always tender and palatable, and as it is not a 
dainty eater, and can obtain food even in the deep 
snow time, it is generally fat, even in the early spring. 
The skins are coarse and brown when tanned, and are 
used by the Indians for gloves, moccasins and cloth- 
ing and even for their lodges. The moose, unlike 
other ruminants, is a fighter, and the female, single- 
handed, will protect her j^oung from a whole pack of 
wolves, and the bull, in the fall, is an ugly customer, 
even for the hunter to tackle. 



74 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

From that admirable and reliable work, V. Wilson's 
Guide to the Yukon, published by the Calvert Com- 
pany, Seattle, and that every traveler to this region 
should possess, I extract the following information in 
regard to the game and fish of the Yukon: 

*' The woodland caribou is found throughout the 
lake and upper river country. It averages nearly 
twice the size of the barren land caribou or reindeer 
and its habits are also quite different. It never mi- 
grates toward the north in summer, but travels directly 
the opposite way. The caribou here have great pow- 
ers of endurance, and can trot at a gait equal to that 
of the best horse. In deep snow it is almost useless 
to pursue them, their wide, flat hoofs and the manner 
in which they spread them, enabling them to 
keep quite on top of the snow. They are much more 
strongly built than the barren land caribou and the 
horns are much stronger and rounder. This species 
is almost untamable and shows no inclination to work 
like their cousins in the Bald hills. 

"The barren land caribou or arctic reindeer, 
altogether different from the woodland caribou, occu- 
pies the barren hills near the Arctic circle, where food 
is so scarce that it is constantly on the move, having 
to migrate to the south in winter. In the severest 
winters its range is many hundred miles in that direc- 
tion. While it and the woodland caribou were origi- 
nally of one species, its mode of living differs so 
widely from its cousin that its habits and appearance 
have changed until it can no longer be considered a 
very near relative to the noble monarch of the woods, 
that leads a life of perfect idleness and plenty in the 
rich, pine-clad lands to the south. It is not to be 
wondered that with their decrease in size their manner 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO TILE KLONDYKE. 75 

and temper have also changed, and that, with a Uttle 
coaxing, they readily become beasts of burden. When 
the time comes for the dogs to give way to their more 
favored successors, everybody in this great country 
will rejoice. The past five winters about Forty-Mile 
Creek have been unusually severe, and great herds 
have ranged further south than usual. It is estimated 
that no less than five thousand were killed last year in 
this vicinity. The herds are reported to number hun- 
dreds of thousands. Their horns, which are counted 
by the hundreds on the Bald Hills, are more slender 
and have a much greater spread than the woodland 
caribou ; thus causing them little difiiculty in ranging 
the sparsely wooded country. All are provided with 
the snow shovel, reaching quite down to the point of 
the nose, to assist them in procuring the reindeer 
moss and lichens in the country they inhabit. This 
is undoubtedly the reason why the female as well 
as the male, is provided with antlers. The 
endurance of these animals, if not over estimated, 
is wonderful, and the ease with which they make long 
journeys through deep snow or over the soggy moss 
of this country would well fit them for the sleigh or 
freighter. 

" There are many species of bear in Alaska, and 
probably the St. Elias grizzly attains a greater size 
than any other bear in the world. If he is not a 
fighter he is certainly not a coward. This bear is 
found in the St. Elias Alps and many of the ranges of 
Alaska, but is more common in the high ranges of 
mountains ea.st of the Yukon River, below Sixtj^-Mile 
Creek. On the Klondyke River they are so numerous 
as to prevent the Indians from hunting there when 
fish are plenty. This bear, like the whole bear famil5\ 



76 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

is a great fish eater. It is during the fish season only 
that this bear leaves its haunts in the high mountains 
for the lowlands. It likes variety and is more of a 
meat eater than its less dignified brother, the brown 
bear. Several men who have come in contact with 
this bear remember it to the extent of a leg or arm, 
and even think themselves lucky to escape wdth their 
lives. Some of the skins of this bear are enormous in 
size, and one skull I examined was be3'ond compari- 
son with anything in the bear line I have ever seen. 
The St. Elias grizzl}^ when young looks almost white 
at a distance. It stands higher than other bear and is 
warj^ even in this remote region, beyond any animal 
I have ever hunted. On the other hand, the brown 
and black bear of this region are easily approached, 
and especially when nosing along the banks of streams 
searching for food. In one case w^e actuall}^ ran our 
boat within thirty feet of one on a clear morning, 
while our portable stove w^as yet burning, having 
cooked breakfast in the boat. 

"Mountain Goat. — This animal, while probably 
smaller than the Rocky mountain goat further south, 
is identical. Its weight will average, perhaps, one 
hundred pounds, and both sexes have horns. Its 
home is on the cloud-swept peaks, surrounded by 
Nature's solitudes, and it seems most content in its 
gloomy surroundings, where the thunderbolt goes 
crashing down the rugged sides of the canyon, or 
w^here the steeps are swept by the mighty avalanche. 
Its coat is well adapted to its rugged home. Under 
the long outer hair a fleecy wool protects it in its 
wonderful leaps from rock to rock. Its legs are 
straight and stiff and its horns are black. The pelt 
makes fine robes and is much prized by the Indians. 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 11 

Mountain Shkkp. — This animal is found through- 
out Alaska, being more numerous in the Coast range 
of mountains than in the interior. It attains a much 
larger size than the goat, and a ram may often be 
found weighing three hundred pounds. It is among 
the wariest of all hoofed game of the American con- 
tinent. It is hardly worth the time and trouble that 
is usually consumed in securing it. Its coat is of 
light gray color and some hunters claim a great deli- 
cacy for its flesh. 

Lynx. — The North American lynx is abundant 
throughout the upper river and lake country. It 
probably attains a larger size there than in any other 
part of the continent. It is easily trapped and any 
rifle kills it readily. Although large and strong, its 
tenacity of life is far below all other species of the cat 
family. The pelt is finely furred and makes excellent 
robes. Its principal food is the rabbit, which abounds 
throughout that country. Its legs and feet are large 
and powerful and well covered with hair, giving it 
rather a clumsy appearance which turns to one of 
ludicrousness when frightened. At such times the 
short, stubbed tail stands erect, the back is arched, 
and with whiskers standing straight out it makes off 
by a succession of spasmodic jumps in a way that 
often totally disconcerts even the old hunter. 

Wolves. — Alaska, like all of North America, is 
more or less inhabitated by wolves. The gray timber 
wolf of average size is found there. It is so wary as 
to be seldom seen by man. It has all the cunning of 
the fox and like all varieties is a coward, except 
when found in great numbers. In the interior they 
are numerous. In parts of the Coast country they 
exist in such numbers that no deer are found on the 



78 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

main land along the whole coast, although the islands 
are exceedingly well stocked with them. 

Wolverine. — This animal is probably more plenti- 
ful throughout the upper river and lake sections than 
any other part of the world. Its peculiar habits and 
singular appearance are little known even to most 
naturalists. I cannot recall ever having seen it in 
captivity. The body is heavy and covered with long 
hair and fur much prized by the Indians as trimming 
for their winter garments. Its legs, although short, 
do not prevent it from making long journeys through 
deep snow. As there is scarcely any limit to its food 
capacity, it is continually on the move, yet so war}^ 
and careful that it is seldom seen. 

Fish. — While the salmon is by far the most im- 
portant fish of the Yukon there are man}^ varieties of 
fine fish, the ever cold water keeping their flesh hard 
and palatable at all seasons of the year. Probably 
next to the salmon in importance comes the white 
fish, of which there are several varieties, some reach- 
ing a good size. They are found throughout almost 
the entire river basin. 

Lake trout of good size are found everywhere in the 
lake country. A species of fish known to the miner 
as lake cod, is also found in the lakes. It seems to be 
a cross between the salmon and white fish, having 
characteristics of each. It is of good size and rises 
readily to a troll. Throughout the summer months 
landlock salmon, similar to those of Maine and Canada, 
abound in the lakes. Grayling or arctic trout is 
found in the rivers. It rises readily to a fly, the small 
black being the best. A small piece of black thread 
fastened around the hook will answer the purpose. 
They frequent the mouths of small streams and falls 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 79 

and are found in great numbers about the canyons 
and White Horse rapids. Pike are numerous about 
the lower river, while the sucker is found everywhere. 
Miners provided with gill nets need have no fear of 
starving. Along the river anywhere in the summer 
and fall by such means they readily lay in a supply 
sufficient to last throughout the winter." 



MINING LAWS OF THE YUKON. 



Following are the Regulations governing placer mining 
along the Yukon river and its tributaries in the Northwest Ter- 
ritories, fixed by a recent order-in-council of the Dominion 
government : 

INTERPRETATION. 

* Bar diggings ' shall mean any part of a river over which the 
water extends when the water is in its flooded state and which 
is not covered at low water. 

Mines on benches shall be known as 'bench diggings,' and 
shall, for the purpose of defining the size of such claims, be ex- 
cepted from dry diggings. 

' Dry diggings ' shall mean any mine over which a river 
never extends. 

' Miner ' shall mean a male or female over the age of 
eighteen, but not under that age. 

' Claim ' shall mean the personal right of property in a placer 
mine or diggings during the time for which the grant of such 
mine or diggings is made 

' Legal post ' shall mean a stake standing not less than four 
feet above the ground and squared on four sides for at least one 
foot from the top. The sides so squared shall measure at least 
four inches across the face. It shall also mean any stump or 
tree cut off or squared or faced to the above height and size. 

' Close season ' shall mean the period of the year during 
which placer mining is generally suspended. The period to be 



80 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

fixed by the gold commissioner in whose district the claim is 
situated. 

* Iwocality ' shall mean the territory along a river (tributary of 
the Yukon river) and its affluents. 

' Mineral ' shall include all minerals whatsoever other than 
coal. 

NATURE AND SIZE OF CLAIMS. 

1. * Bar diggings,' a strip of land lOO feet wide at high water 
mark and thence extending into the river to its lowest water 
level. 

2. The sides of a claim for bar digging shall be two parallel 
lines run as nearl}- as possible at right angles to the stream, 
and shall be marked by four legal posts, one at each end of the 
claim at or about the edge of the water. One of the posts at 
high water mark shall be legally marked with the name of the 
miner and the date upon which the claim was staked. 

3. Dry diggings shall be 100 feet square and shall have 
placed at each of its four corners a legal post, upon one of 
which shall be legally marked the name of the miner and the 
date upon which the claim was staked. 

4. Creek and river claims shall be 500 feet long, measured 
in the direction of the general course of the stream, and shall 
extend in width from base to base of the hill or bench on each 
side, but when the hills or benches are less than 100 feet apart 
the claim may be 100 feet in depth. The sides of the claim 
shall be two parallel lines run as nearly as possible at right 
angles to the stream. The sides shall be marked with legal 
posts at or about the edge of the water and at the rear boun- 
daries of the claim. One of the legal posts at the stream shall 
be legibly marked with the name of the miner and the date 
upon which the claim was staked. 

5. Bench claims shall be 100 feet square. 

6. In defining the size of claims they shall be measured 
horizontally, irrespective of inequalities on the surface of the 
ground. 

7. If any person or persons shall discover a new mine and 
such discovery shall be established to the satisfaction of the 
gold commissioner, a claim for bar diggings 750 feet in length 
may be granted. 




En Route from Circle City to the Mines. 




Forty-Mile Post, Alaska. 




.A « 



'^mSt^ 




'm 



En Rotite tVoni Circle Citv to the Mines. 




a»^-'. 



C:il.in at Forty-Mile Post, Alaska. 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 81 

A new stratum of auriferous earth or gravel situated in a 
locality where the claims are abandoned shall for this purpose 
be deemed a new mine, although the same locality shall have 
been previously worked at a different level. 

8. The forms of application for a grant for placer mining 
and the grant of the same shall be those contained in forms ' H ' 
and • I ' in the schedule hereto. 

9. A claim shall be recorded with the gold commissioner in 
whose district it is situated within three days after the location 
thereof, if it is located within ten miles of the commissioner's 
oflSce. One extra day shall be allowed for making such record 
for every ten miles or fraction thereof. 

10. In the event of the absence of the gold commissioner 
from his office, entry by a claim may be granted by any person 
whom he may appoint to perform his duties in his absence. 

11. Entry shall not be granted for a claim which has not 
been staked by the applicant in person in the manner specified 
in these regulations. An affidavit that the claim was staked 
out by the applicant shall be embodied in form ' H ' of the 
schedule hereto. 

12. An entry fee of $15 shall be charged the first year, and 
an annual fee of $100 for each of the following years. This 
provision shall apply to locations for which entries have already 
been granted. 

13. After the recording of a claim the removal of any post 
by the holder thereof, or by any person acting in his behalf, 
for the purpose of changing the boundaries of his claim, shall 
act as a forfeiture of the claim. 

14. The entry of every holder of a grant for placer mining 
must be renewed and his receipt relinquished and replaced 
ever}' year, the entry fee being paid each time. 

15. No miner shall receive a grant of more than one mining 
claim in the same locality, but the same miner may hold any 
number of claims by purchase, and any number of miners may 
unite to work their claims in common upon such terms as they 
may arrange, provided such agreement be registered with the 
gold commissioner and a fee of five dollars be paid for each 
registration. 

j6. Any miner or miners may sell, mortgage or dispose of 



82 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

his or their claims, provided such disposal be registered with, 
and a fee of two dollars paid to the gold commissioner, who 
shall thereupon give the assignee a certificate in form * J ' in the 
schedule hereto. 

17. Every miner shall, during the continuance of his grant, 
have the exclusive right of entry upon his own claim, for the 
miner-like working thereof, and the construction of a residence 
thereon, and shall be entitled exclusively to all the proceeds 
realized therefrom ; but he shall have no surface rights therein; 
and the gold commissioner may grant to the holders of adjacent 
claims such right of entry thereon as may be absolutel)' neces- 
sary for the working of their claims, upon such terms as may 
to him seem reasonable. He may also grant permits to miners 
to cut timber thereon for their own use, upon payment of the 
dues prescribed by the regulations in that behalf. 

18. Every miner shall be entitled to the use of so much of 
the water naturally flowing through or past his claim, and not 
already lawfully appropriated, as shall, in the opinion of the 
gold commissioner, be necessary for the due working thereof ; 
and shall be entitled to drain his own claim free of charge. 

19. A claim shall be deemed to be abandoned and open to 
occupation and entry by any person when the same shall have 
remained uuworked on working days by the grantee thereof or 
by some person on his behalf for the space of seventy-two 
hours, unless sickness or other reasonable cause be shown to 
the satisfaction of the gold commissioner, or unless the grantee 
is absent on leave given by the commissioner, and the gold 
commissioner upon obtaining evidence satisfactory to himself 
that this provision is not being complied with may cancel the 
entry given for a claim. 

20. If the laud upon which a claim has been located is not 
the property of the crown it will be necessary for the person 
who applied for entry to furnish proof that he has acquired 
from the owner of the land the surface rights before entry can 
be granted. 

21. If the occupier of the lands has not received the patent 
therefor, the purchase money of the surface rights must be paid 
to the crown, and a patent of the surface rights will issue to the 
party who acquired the mining rights. The money so collected 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 88 

will either be refunded to the occupier of the land, when he is 
entitled to a patent therefor, or will be credited to him on 
account of payment for land, 

22. When the party obtaining the mining riglits to lands 
cannot make an arrangement with the owner or his agent or 
the occupant thereof for the acquisition of his surface rights, it 
vShall be lawful for him to give notice to the owner or his agent 
or the occupier to appoint an arbitrator to act with another 
arbitrator named by him, in order to award the amount of com- 
pensation to which the owner or occupant shall be entitled. 
The notice mentioned in this section shall be according to a 
form to be obtained upon application from the gold commis- 
sioner for the district in which the lands in question lie, and 
shall, when practicable, be personally served on such owner, or 
his agent, if known, or occupant ; and after reasonable efforts 
have been made to effect personal service, without success, then 
such notice shall be served by leaving at, or sending by regis- 
tered letter to, the last place of abode of the owner, agent or 
occupant. Such notice shall be served on the owner or agent 
within a period to be fixed by the gold commissioner before the 
expiration of the time limited in such notice. If the proprietor 
refuses or declines to appoint an arbitrator, or when, for any 
other reason, no arbitrator is appointed by the proprietor in the 
time limited therefor in the notice provided for by this section, 
the gold commissioner for the district in which the lands 
in question lie, shall, on being satisfied by affidavit that such 
notice has come to the knowledge of such owner, agent or occu- 
pant, or that such owner, agent or occupant wilfully evades the 
service of such notice, or cannot be found, and that reasonable 
efforts have been made to effect such service, and that the notice 
was left at the last place of abode of such owner, agent or occu- 
pant, appoint an arbitrator on his behalf. 

23. (rt) All the arbitrators appointed under the authority of 
these regulations shall be sworn before a justice of the peace to 
the impartial discharge of the duties assigned to them, and they 
shall forthwith proceed to estimate the reasonable damages 
which the owner or occupant of such lands, according to their 
several interests therein, shall sustain by reason of such pros- 
pecting and mining operations. 

{b) In estimating such damages, the arbitrators shall deter- 



8t CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

mine the value of the land irrespectively of any enhancement 
therefrom from the existence of minerals therein. 

(r) In case such arbitrators cannot agree, they may select a 
third arbitrator, and when two arbitrators cannot agree upon a 
third arbitrator, the gold commissioner for the district in which 
the lands in question lie shall select such third arbitrator. 

[^d) The award of any two such arbitrators made in writing 
shall be final, and shall be filed with the gold commissioner for 
the district in which the lands lie. 

In any cases arising for which no provision is made in these 
regulations, the provisions of the regulations governing the 
disposal of mineral lands other than coal lands, approved by 
his excellency the governor in council on the 9th of November 
1896, shall apply. 



Form H. — Application for grant for Placer Mining and 
Affidavit of Applicant. 

I, [or we], of hereby apply under the 

Dominion Mining Regulations, for a grant of a claim for placer 
mining, as defined in the said regulations, in [Here 

describe locality] and I [or we] solemely swear : 

1. That I [or we] have discovered therein a deposit of [here 
name the metal or mineral.] 

2. That I [or we] am [or are] to the best of my [or our] 
knowledge and belief, the first discoverer [or discovers] of said 
deposit ; or 

3. That the said claim was previously granted to [here name 
the last grantee], but has remained unworked by the said 
grantee for not less than 

4. That I [or we] am [or are] unaware that the land is other 
than vacant Dominion land. 

5. That I [or we] did, on the day of mark out on 
the ground in accordance in every particular with the provis- 
ions of the mining regulations for the Yukon river and its 
tributaries, the claim for which I [or we] make this applica- 
tion, and that in so doing I [or we] did not incroach on any 
other claim or mining location previously laid out by any other 
person. 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 85 

6. That the said claim contains, as nearly as I [or we] could 
measure or estimate, an area of square feet, and that the 
description, (and sketch, if any), of this date hereto attached, 
signed by me [or us] sets [or set] forth in detail, to the best of 
my [or our] knowledge and ability, its position, form and 
dimensions. 

7. That I [or we] make this application in good faith, to 
acquire the claim for the sole purpose of mining, to be prose- 
cuted by myself [or us] or by myself and associates, or by my 
[or our] assigns. 

Sworn to before me at this day of 18 

[Signature,] 



Form I. — Grant for Placer Mining. 

No. Department of the Interior. 

Agency, 18 

In consideration of the payment of five dollars, being the fee 
required by the provisions of the Dominion Mining Regulations, 
clauses four and twenty, by (A. B.) of , accompany- 

ing his [or their] application No. dated 18 , for a mining 

claim in [here insert description of locality.] 

The Minister of the Interior hereby grants to the said 
(A. B.) , for the term of one year from the date hereof, the 
exclusive right of entry upon the claim [here describe in 

detail the claim granted] for the miner-like working thereof 
and the construction of a residence thereon, and the exclusive 
right to all the proceeds realized therefrom. 

The said (A. B.) shall be entitled to the use of so much 
of the water naturally flowing through or past his [or their] 
claim, and not already lawfully appropriated, as shall be neces- 
sary for the due working thereof, and to drain his [or their] 
claim free of charge. 

This grant does not convey to the said (A. B.) any sur- 
face rights in the said claim, or any right of ownership in the 
soil covered by the said claim ; and the said grant shall lapse 
and be forfeited unless the claim is continuously and in good 
faith worked by the said (A. B.) or his [or their] asso- 
ciates. 

The rights hereby granted are those laid down in the afore- 



86 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

said mining regulations, and no more, and are subject to all the 
provisions of said regulations, whether the same are expressed 
herein or not. 

[Signed.] Gold Commissioner. 



Form J. — Certificate of the Assi^nme?it of a Placer Mining 
Claim. 

No. Department of the Interior. 

Agency, i8 

This is to certify that (B, C.) of has [or have] 

filed an assignment in due form dated i8 , and accom- 

panied by a registration fee of two dollars, of the grant to 
(A. B.) of of the right to mine in [insert descrip- 

tion of claim] for one year from the i8 . 

This certificate entitles the said (B. C.) to all the 

rights and privileges of the said (A. B.) in respect 

of the claim assigned, that is to saj'', to the exclusive right of 
entry upon the said claim for the miner-like working thereof 
and the construction of a residence thereon, and the exclusive 
right to all the proceeds realized therefrom, for the remaining 
portion of the year for which the said claim was granted to the 
said (A. B.) , that is to say, until the 

day of i8 . 

The said (B. C.) shall be entitled to the use of so 

much of the water naturally flowing through or past his [or 
their] claim and not already lawfully appropriated, as shall be 
necessary for the due working thereof, and to drain the claim 
free of charge. 

This grant does not convey to the said (B. C.) an)' 

surface rights in the said claim, or any right of ownership in 
the soil covered by the said claim ; and the said grant shall 
lapse and be forfeited unless the claim is continuously, and in 
good faith worked by the said (B. C.) or his [or their] 

associates. 

The rights hereby granted are those laid down in the Domin- 
ion Mining Regulations, and no more, and are subject to all the 
provisions of the said regulations, whether the same are ex- 
pressed herein or not. 

Gold Commissioner. 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 87 



UNITED STATES LAWS. 



The following synopsis of the United States Mining 
Laws was prepared for the Chicago Times- Herald, by 
Mr. Charles M. Walker, and will be useful to those 
who wish to settle on the United States side of the 
boundary line : 

PLACER CLAIM DEFINED. 

" The term ' placer claim,' as defined by the supreme court 
of the Uuited States, is : ' Ground within defined boundaries 
which contains mineral in its earth, sand or gravel ; ground 
that includes valuable deposits not in place, that is, not fixed 
in rock, but which are in a loose state, and may in most cases 
be collected by washing or amalgamation without milling.' 

Size of Quartz and Filacer Ci^aims. — The manner of 
locating placer mining claims dififers from that of locating 
claims upon veins or lodes. In locating a vein or lode claim 
the United States statutes provide that no claim shall extend 
more than 300 feet on each side of the middle of the vein at the 
surface, and that no claim shall be limited by mining regula- 
tions to less than 25 feet on each side of the middle of the vein 
at the surface. In locating claims called * placers,' however, 
the law provides that no location of such claim upon surveyed 
lands shall include more than twenty acres for each individual 
claimant. The supreme court, however, has held that one 
individual can hold as many locations as he can purchase and 
rely upon his possessory title ; that a separate patent for each 
location is unnecessary. 

Proof of Citizenship. — Locators, however, have to show 
proof of citizenship or intention to become citzens. This may 
be done in the case of an individual by his own affidavit ; in the 
case of an association incorporated by a number of individuals 
by the affidavit of their authorized agent, made on his own 
knowledge or upon information and belief; and in the case of 
a company organized under the laws of any state or territory, 
by the filing of a certified copy of the charter or certificate of 
incorporation. 



88 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

Patents. — A patent for any laud claimed and located may 
be obtained in the following manner : * Any person, association 
or corporation authorized to locate a claim, having claimed and 
located a piece of land, and who has or have complied with the 
terms of the law, may file in the proper land office an applica- 
tion for a patent under oath, showing such compliance, together 
with a plat and field notes of the claim or claims in common 
made by or under the direction of the United States surveyor 
general, showing accurately the boundaries of the claim or 
claims, which shall be distinctly marked by monuments on the 
ground, and shall post a copy of such plat, together with a 
notice of such application for a patent, in a conspicuous place 
on the land embraced in such a plat, previous to the application 
for a patent on such plat ; and shall file an affidavit of at least 
two persons that such notice has been duly posted, and shall 
file a copy of the notice in such land office ; and shall there- 
upon be entitled to a patent to the land in the manner follow- 
ing : The registrar ot said land office upon the filing of such 
application, plat, field notes, notices and affidavits, shall publish 
a notice that such application has been made, for a period of 
sixty days, in a newspaper to be by him designated, as pub- 
lished nearest to such claim ; and he shall post such notice in 
his office for the same period. The claimant at the time of fil- 
ing such application or at any time thereafter, within sixty 
days of publication, shall file with the registrar a certificate of 
the United States surveyor general that $500 worth of labor has 
been expended or improvements made upon the claim by him- 
self or grantors ; that the plat is correct, with such further 
description by reference to natural objects or permanent monu- 
ments as shall identify the claim and furnish an accurate 
description to be incorporated in the patent. At the expiration 
of the sixty days of publication, the claimant shall file his affi- 
davit showing that the plat and notice have been posted in a 
conspicuous place on the claim during such period of publica- 
tion.' 

Adverse CIvAims. — If no adverse claim shall have been filed 
with the registrar of the land office at the expiration of said 
sixty days, the claimant is entitled to a patent upon the pay- 
ment to the proper officer of $5 per acre in the cas? of a, lode 
claim, and $2 50 per f^cv? foy a placc;^-, 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 89 

The location of a placer claim and keeping possession thereof 
until a patent shall be issued are subject to local laws and cus- 
toms. 

LAWS APPLICABLE TO ALASKA. 

Man)'' misunderstandings have arisen in regard to the land 
and mineral laws applicable to Alaska, some of the United 
States laws being, by explicit enactment, not operative in the 
district of Alaska. The Comissioner of the General Land Office 
has recently published a statement which shows that these are 
the laws applicable to Alaska : 

(i) The mineral land laws of the United States ; (2) town site 
laws, which provide for the incorporation of town sites and 
acquirement of title thereto from the United States Government 
to the town site Trustees ; (3) the laws providing for trade and 
manufactures, giving each qualified person 160 acres of land in 
a square and compact form. The coal land regulations are dis- 
tinct from the mineral regulations or laws, and the jurisdiction 
of neither coal laws nor public land laws extends to Alaska, the 
Territory being expressly excluded by the laws themselves 
from their operation. The act approved May 17, 18S4, provid- 
ing for civil government for Alaska, has this language as to 
mines and mining privileges : 

' The laws of the United States relating to mining claims and 
rights incidental thereto shall on and after the passage of this 
act be in full force and effect in said district of Alaska, subject 
to such regulations as may be made by the Secretary of the In- 
terior and approved by the President,' and 'parties who have 
located mines or mining privileges therein, under the United 
States laws, applicable to the public domain, or have occupied 
or improved or exercised acts of ownership over such claims 
shall not be disturbed therein, but shall be allowed to perfect 
title by payment so provided for.' There is still more general 
authority. 

Without this special authority the act of July 4, 1866, says : 
' All valuable mineral deposits in lands belonging to the United 
States, both surveyed and unsurveyed, are hereby declared to 
be free and open to exploration and purchase, and lands in 
which these are found to occupations and purchase by citizens 
of the United States and by those who have declared an inten- 
tiou to become sucU under the rules prescribed by law and 



90 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

according to local customs or rules of miners in the several 
mining districts, so far as the same are applicable and not in- 
consistent with the laws of the United States.' " 



CLIMATE. 



The best information that can be obtained at second 
hand as to the climate of the Klond3^ke region is that 
given by the officials of the Canadian and the United 
States governments. Mr. William Ogilvie, the Can- 
adian surveyor, in one of his reports, sa3^s : 

* After my return there was some fine clear 
weather in January, but it was exceedingly^ cold, more 
than 60 degrees below zero, one night 68.5 degrees, 
and as I had both my ears pretty badly frozen and 
could not go out in such cold without having them 
covered, so that I could not hear the chronometer beat, 
I could not observe until the end of the month, when 
we had two fine nights — 29th and 30th — mild enough 
for me to work.' 

United States Report. — A more exhaustive and 
complete statement of the climatic conditions of that 
region is contained in a United States Government 
report prepared under the direction of the Secretary of 
Agriculture by Willis L. Moore, Chief of the Weather 
Bureau. He says : 

* The climates of the coast and interior of Alaska 
are alike in many respects, and the differences are in- 
tensified in this, as perhaps in few other countries, by 
exceptional physical conditions. The fringe of islands 
that separates the mainland from the Pacific Ocean, 
from Dixon Sound north, and also a strip of the main- 
land for possibly twenty miles back from the sea, fol- 
lowing the sw^ep of the coast as it curves to the 



CLEiMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. \)\ 

northwestward to the western extremity of Alaska, 
form a distinct climatic division which may be termed 
temperate Alaska. The temperature rarely falls to 
zero ; winter does not set in until December i , and by 
the last of May the snow has disappeared except on 
the mountains. The mean winter temperature of 
Sitka is 32.5, but Uttle less than that of Washington, 
D. C. 

' The rainfall of temperate Alaska is notorious the 
world over, not only as regards the quantity, but also 
as to the manner of its falling, viz., in long and inces- 
sant rains and drizzles. Cloud and fog naturally 
abound, there being on an average but sixty clear 
days in the year. 

' North of the Aleutian Islands the coast climate be- 
comes more rigorous in winter, but in summer the 
difference is much less marked. 

' Climate of the Interior. — The climate of the 
interior, including in that designation practically all 
of the country except a narrow fringe of coastal mar- 
gin and the territory before referred to as temperate 
Alaska, is one of extreme rigor in winter, with a brief 
but relatively hot summer, especially when the sk}^ is 
free from cloud. 

' In the Klondike region in midwinter the sun rises 
from 9:30 to 10 A. M., and sets from 2 to 3 p.m., the 
total length of daylight being about four hours. 
Remembering that the sun rises but a few degrees 
above the horizon and that it is wholly obscured on a 
great many days, the character of the winter months 
may be easily imagined. 

' We are indebted to the United States coast and 
geodetic surve}^ for a series of six months' observations 
on the Yukon, not far form the present site of the gold 



92 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

discoveries. The observations v^^ere made with stan- 
dard instruments and are wholly reliable. The mean 
temperature of the months from October, 1889, to 
April, 1890, both inclusive, are as follows : 

Degrees. 

February -15 

March 6 

April 20 



Degrees. 

October 33 

November 8 

December -11 

January -17 



* The daily mean temperature fell and remained 
below the freezing point (32 degrees) from Nov. 4, 
1889, to April 21, 1890, thus giving 168 days as the 
length of the closed season of 1889-90, assuming that 
outdoor operations are controlled by temperature only. 
The lowest temperatures registered during the winter 
were 32 degrees below zero in November, 47 below in 
December, 59 below in January, 55 below in February, 
45 below in March, and 26 below in April. The 
greatest continuous cold occurred in February, 1890, 
when the daily mean for five consecutive days was 47 
degrees below zero. 

' Has Bekn Colder in United States. — Greater 
cold than that here noted has been experienced in the 
United States for a very short time. In the interior 
of Alaska the winter sets in as early as September, 
when snowstorms may be expected in the mountains 
and passes. Headway during one of those storms is 
impossible, and the traveler who is overtaken by one 
of them is indeed fortunate if he escapes with his life. 
Snowstorms of great severity occur in any month from 
September to May inclusive. 

' The changes of temperature from winter to summer 
are rapid, owing to the great increase in the length of 
the day. In May the sun rises at about 3 a. m. and 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 93 

sets about 9 p. m. In June it rises about 1 130 in the 
morning and sets at about 10:30 at night, giving about 
twenty hours of dayHght and diffuse twihght the 
remainder of the time. 

' The mean summer temperature in the interior 
doubtless ranges between 60 and 70 degrees, accord- 
ing to elevation, being highest in the middle and 
lower Yukon valleys.' " 



CLiriATE AT THE GOLD FIELDS. 



These reports refer to the countr}^ generally. Mr. 
Wilson says of the more immediate Klondyke region : 
'* The climate in the lake region and down to old Fort 
Yukon, although cold in winter and warm in summer, 
is very agreeable. The snow in the upper river coun- 
try never exceeds three or four feet, often barely two. 
In summer little rain falls except during an occasional 
thunder storm. The summer season is truly one long 
dream of sunshine, due to the protection of the high 
Coast range, which precipitates the ever present 
humidity of the coast, leaving the interior dry. The 
general direction of the wind is inland in summer and 
directly opposite in winter. This is caused by the 
rising of the hot air of the interior in summer and in 
winter by the existence of a persistent north wind 
which easily forces the coast breezes seaward. The 
winters while cold, are so devoid of humidity that the' 
cold is easily endured, and one suffers less when the 
thermometer registers forty below than on the coast 
at zero." 



94 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 
DYEA. 



The ocean voyage over, the traveler is landed at 
Dyea, where the real difficulties of the trip begin. 
A guide is not necessary, unless you happen to be the 
first person making the trip in the season, for the route 
is pretty well marked out after one party has crossed. 
Until the great influx of miners created a town, Dyea 
was nothing but an Indian village and a trading post. 
The North American Trading and Transportation 
Company have had a store there for some time. Indian 
packers can be engaged here, to pack provisions and 
outfit over the pass to Lake Lindeman. For the first 
mile or two the road is fairly good, and if the river is 
frozen over, there is none of the unpleasantness of 
wading a cold, icy stream, that those who attempt to 
cross later in the season experience. The Dyea val- 
ley is an old river bed, full of huge bowlder- and deep 
sand. This passed, the Grand Canyon is reached, a 
deep cut into the solid walls of the Coast range. 
This canyon is followed for six miles to Sheep Camp, 
where the scenery abruptly changes. 



SHEEP CAHP. 



From this point to the summit, fifteen miles, is the 
most arduous part of the trail. I have seen men with 
packs on their backs, fall over backwards, owing to the 
steepness of the road. Here it was that we, as de- 
scribed in the earlier pages of this book, used derricks 
to hoist our supplies from one bench to another. All 
kinds of devices are followed to reach ihe summit, but 
it is to be hoped that before another season opens, 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 95 

something will be done to lighten the fearful labors 
of crossing. In the later spring, when the snow has 
melted the difficulties are increased. 

Two miles below the summit are some overhanging 
rocks, which, affording shelter from storms, have 
received the name of Stone House, and from this point 
on, comes the tug of war. The first mile and a half are 
bad enough, but the last half mile is true Alpine work. 
If you are carrying a load, so much the harder. The 
2,400 feet climb from Stone House to the summit, 
through the snow, or in the summer, through a mix- 
ture of slush and rocks, is about the hardest physical 
exertion one meets on the trip. We reach the top 
well winded, tired and relieved. If we have been 
carrying a heavy pack we lay it down and take a rest. 
On our way up we have passed two or three note- 
worthy glaciers, — one a short distance above Sheep 
Camp, and the other as we near the summit, a wall of 
blue ice, towering a thousand feet above the pass. 
We are not going to meet such another piece of road, 
unless we are trying to do our own packing. If this 
is the case we must go back and bring up the goods 
we have left behind. 

It is often necessary in making journeys in this 
country to cache part of our outfit, that is to say, to 
put it in a place where it is covered up, so that animals 
will not devour it. Over in the timbered regions this 
is often done by building a receptacle of logs, mounted 
on uprights, high above the groundling vermin and 
bear-tight. Articles so cached are almost invariably 
respected, both by whites and Indians, he who would 
do violence to a cache being looked upon, by Yukoners, 
in about the same light that a horse-thief is regarded 
in western Texas. 



96 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

After leaving the summit there is a sheer descent of 
five hundred feet to the bed of Crater Lake. The 
water has cut a small canj-on down the mountain side, 
which should be followed to Lake Lindeman. When 
snow lines the mountain side, this nine miles trip is 
an eas}^ one, and after the steep climb to the summit is 
a welcome change. 



WHERE TO STOP FOR THE NIGHT. 

In deciding where to make a night camp several 
things should be considered. Try to find a good 
sheltered spot, where winds will not disturb you, or 
storms hem 3^ou in, should they come up, and as plenty 
of wood for fires is almost a necessity, try and stop 
where plenty of timber is to be had. It is alwaj^s 
best to stop early in the afternoon and resume the 
journey in the eaily morning, than to travel until late, 
make a late camp, where no choice can be had, go to 
sleep under such disadvantages and wake unrefreshed 
in the morning to make a late start. 

A little thought given to camping spots will be well 
repaid in the additional comforts enjoyed, and hard- 
ships escaped. 



LAKE LINDEflAN. 



Here the journey down the chain of lakes and rivers 
which finally leads to the Klondyke begins, and to one 
who carefully follows my narrative, little if anything 
further need be said. 












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CHII^KOOT PASS. 



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CHILKOOT PASS. 



CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 97 
BOAT BUILDING. 

In building your boat, be sure that it is strong and 
secure, with an extra thick bottom. Wilson's boat 
was built of five-eighth boards, twenty-two feet long 
and well braced with one and three-quarter inch tim- 
bers nailed and clinched with wire nails. It carried 
about nine hundred pounds of outfit besides themselves. 

Mr. Brownlie's advice in this matter is as follows : 
" The idea seems to be prevalent that you must build 
your boat as soon as you get over the 'divide,' either 
at Lake Lindeman or Lake Bennett. If I were going 
to make the trip I should do nothing of the kind. By 
leaving San Francisco in early February, not later 
than the middle of the month, ^-ou can, in all proba- 
bilit3% get over the ' divide ' without trou])le early in 
March. At that time of the year the lakes and streams 
are nearly all frozen, and a person can get as far as 
the foot of Lake Labarge before the ice begins to 
break up. It is much easier to travel over the ice than 
through the lakes in a boat, besides you can go much 
faster, for in many places you can stick up a sail on 
your sled and go skimming over the surface at a very 
rapid speed. I know of one party that got as far as 
Fort Selkirk in that manner before the ice broke. At 
any rate I would go as far as I could in that way, 
and then I would build my boat. It does not require 
an expert boat builder to do this, but it was about the 
hardest work I did on the whole trip. 

"You can't scoop a canoe out of a big log as the 
Indians do, because a white man, without he has 
had years of experience in that sort of thing, would 
tip a canoe over the moment he got into it, and if he 
didn't do that he would fall out at the first rapids he 



98 CLEMENTS' GUIDE TO THE KLONDYKE. 

struck. The only way to do is to get out on the bank 
of the stream or lake and select a fir tree large enough 
to give lumber the desired size. You will not get very 
far from the water because the undergrowth is so thick 
in most places that a dog can't get through. And I 
want to say right here that this talk about footing it 
all the way is absurd. Yon must go in a boat or on 
the ice. The timber is so heavy and the undergrowth 
so rank that a man couldn't walk from Lake Linde- 
man to Sixty-Mile in a hundred years. Boat building 
is a necessity. After you've cut down your tree and 
trimmed off the branches and sawed the trunk into 
the length you want your boards, then you've got to 
build a sort of roll-way and get the tree up off the 
ground four or five feet, so as to be able to saw it. 
Then you have about a week 'shard work whip- sawing 
the lumber out. The timber is green, and after half 
dozen pulls at the saw you've got to stop and drive a 
wedge to keep the saw from getting stuck. 

** The boat should be built as strong as it can be 
made, and the bottom should be extra thick. If it is 
not the first boulder you strike will, in all probability, 
knock a hole in it and dump you and your load into 
the river, from which you will be very lucky to escape 
with 3^our life." 

Arrived at Dawson Gity the prospector or would be 
gold digger must decide for himself, after consulta- 
tion with people on the ground, where and how he 
will go prospecting, and thus gain the wealth for 
which he has come. I can only express the hope, in 
concluding these hastily but carefully written and 
arranged pages, that every man who goes will be as 
lucky, or even more so, than I have been and come back 
to his home and loved ones ' * well fixed ' ' for life. 



How to Reach the Klondyke 

Will be the first important question asked by those 
who seriously contemplate seeking their fortunes in 
the rich gold fields of Alaska. 

So far as the route to the Pacific Coast is concerned 
the Southern Pacific Compan)^ will undertake to 
make satisfactory answer. 

The principal point of embarkation for all trans- 
Pacific points is San Francisco. All travel and traffic 
to Alaska is primarily from that point. During the 
summer season when navigation in the northern seas 
is possible regular line steamers leave that port for 
Juneau and other Alaskan ports every few days, thus 
perfecting the most direct and well established route 
known to the great mines of the north. 

The Southern Pacific Company has two lines direct 
to San Francisco, either of which, depending of course 
on the starting point, will afford quick and comfortable 
passage. 

One is styled the *' Ogden Route," extending from 
Ogden westward in an almost direct line to San Fran- 
cisco. F'rom the New England and Middle States and 
the Upper Mississippi Valley it is unquestionably the 
most popular route to the Pacific Coast. Two through 
trains daily leave Chicago for San Francisco, providing 
accommodations for both first and second class passen- 
gers. Through cars of both classes are likewise run daily 
from Omaha, Kansas City, Denver and Salt Lake Cit3^ 

The accommodations on this route for long journeys 
are not surpassed in transcontinental railway service, 
and it is always of prime importance when arranging 
for a long journey to consult comfort, convenience and 
expedition. The Ogden Route is also a noted pictur- 
esque route, and adds to the attraction of expediency 
the attraction of pleasure. 



The other famous line of the S. P. Co. is the " Sun- 
set Route " extending from New Orleans to San 
Francisco, and now universally regarded as the great 
Southern gateway to the Pacific Coast. From the 
entire southern portion of the United States the 
natural course westward is through New Orleans, 
Houston, El Paso, Yuma and Los Angeles to the 
great Golden Gate metropolis. Through cars first and 
second class leave New Orleans daily, and every Wed- 
nesday a tourist car leaves Washington, D. C, direct 
for San Francisco without change. On Thursdays a 
tourist car also leaves Cincinnati for the same destina- 
tion through New Orleans without change. 

Parties making their arrangements for this long trip 
will naturally desire to consult someone who can give 
them full information, hence we take pleasure in 
appending addresses of the following S. P. Co. agents 
who will be glad to supply any further information 
that may be desired as to rates, routes, etc. 

E. Hawley, A. G. T. M., 349 Broadway, New York ; 
E. E. Currier, New England Agent, 9 State Street, 
Boston, Mass ; R. J. Smith, Agent. 49 South Third 
St., Philadelphia, Pa.; B. B. Barber, Agent, 209 E. 
German St., Baltimore, Md.: F. T. Brooks, N. Y. 
State Agent, 129 S. Franklin St., Syracuse, N. Y.; 
G. G. Herring, Com. Agent, 201 Telephone Building, 
Seventh Ave., Pittsburg, Pa.; W. H. Connor, Com. 
Agent, Chamber of Commerce Building, Cincinnati, 
O.; W. G. Neimyer, Gen. Western Agent, 238 Clark 
St., Chicago, 111.; Wm. K. McAllister, Gen. Agent, 
1 1 12 Seventeenth St., Denver, Colo.; R. O. Bean, 
Traveling Pass. Agent, 4 Noel Block, Nashville, Tenn.; 
W. R. Fagan, Traveling Pass. Agent, 18 Wall St., 
Atlanta, Ga., and S. F. B. Morse, General Passenger 
Agent, (AtUiutic System) New Orleans, La. 



it>1i-S1 







MAP 



kCVTE TRWELED FROM 

Jl'NEAU 
DAWSON CITY 



Deacidifled using the Bookkeeper process 
Neutralizing Agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: 




CT 



1993 



BBRKEEPER 



^ 



PRESERVATION TECHNOLOGIES, LP. 
1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
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(724)779-2111 



